Project Update - August 7, 2026: Project Approaches Final Phase

The Dedham Educational Model Redevelopment project, which began in March 2026 is reaching its final phase. Under the guidance of an appointed Dedham School Committee subcommittee, the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy has spent the last five months completing a comprehensive data and document review, classroom visits, focus groups, community engagement forums, online and in-person events, a Community Visioning event in May and a community survey that yielded over 750 responses.

At the upcoming August 13, 2026 Dedham School Committee meeting (online meeting), the Rennie Center will present the first of two reports from the project that will include findings, recommendations and options for Dedham moving forward.

The first of these reports will focus on school and grade configuration options, detailing various strategies and scenarios that explore possible ways in which school size, grade distribution and school building environments can be optimized to meet student learning needs. The second report, which will focus on teaching & learning, including curriculum, instruction, assessment, and culture, will be presented at a future meeting in September. The culmination of both reports will result in a new Educational Model for Dedham Public Schools that integrates academic visioning, community engagement, and facilities strategy into a comprehensive framework that will help define how Dedham manages the learning experience of students across all schools in the district.

The grade and school configuration focused report is being released earlier and separately from the teaching & learning report so that three top options for school and grade configurations can be shared and incorporated into the ongoing work of the Facilities Master Plan project, which is currently examining the facility needs and planning priorities for all Town buildings.

The Dedham School Committee will be reviewing the published report and options presented, with a goal to identify the top 3 options that will be submitted to the Facilities Master Plan project consultant Arrowstreet, for further cost analysis and research. The vote by the school committee to select the top options to move forward for further research will be conducted in late September.