Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter School Moving

The Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School, currently located at 25 Clinton St. in downtown Framingham, plans to move to a new campus across town by the fall of 2014.

The school's Executive Director Kristin Harrison and its Board Chair Jim Tierney announced the school has entered into an agreement with Framingham Newbury 135 CPI, LLC, to purchase the property at 135-139 Newbury St., near BJ's Wholesale Club and the Target Plaza in Framingham.

The regional charter school, which serves about 400 students in grades 6-7-8, is expected to complete the move to a new campus in phases, but plans to open a functional school by the summer of 2014, said a press release.

Although comparable in square footage to the existing Clinton Street site, the campus reflects amore flexible and efficient educational space that better meets the needs of the regional Expeditionary Learning school, said the release.

The move to a permanent campus comes just after the school’s 10 year anniversary.

A short distance from the Mass Pike, Routes 9 and 30, as well as Speen Street, the new, four-acre campus will include 18 general classrooms, two art/tech classrooms, teacher workrooms and administrative offices, a multi-use cafeteria, an Adventure and Wellness Center and outdoor green space for adventure, fitness, and experiential learning activities.

The campus can comfortably accommodate parking and includes two access points that will make traffic management more efficient and safe for students, parents and staff, said the release.

"Thanks to incredible teamwork between McAuliffe’s Board of Trustees, dedicated parents and staff,and the creative ideas from students themselves, this campus is a dream realized and a learning expedition in itself,” said Harrison. “Our new campus will be designed to fit into the neighborhood and provide flexible and usable space for our students."

As a regional charter school with families traveling from surrounding towns including Natick, Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, Sudbury, Southborough and Marlborough we are very fortunate to have found the perfect location within the town of Framingham, said Harrison.

The school has met or been in touch with many of its new neighbors, as well as Precinct 9 Town Meeting representatives, to preview the project.

A meeting with the local community will take place prior to the first meeting with the Framingham's Planning Board.

The meeting time and location will be announced in the near future.

At the meeting, McAuliffe leaders will share details on the campus acquisition and project design and hear questions and input from neighbors, said the press release.

Estimated cost for the new property is estimated at $5 million, with additional renovations at $2.5 million. The charter school has launched a capital fundraising campaign to fun the new campus.