{"id":83,"date":"2026-05-13T14:35:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T14:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=83"},"modified":"2026-05-13T14:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T14:35:16","slug":"is-the-amigos-school-headed-to-spring-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=83","title":{"rendered":"Is the Amigos School headed to Spring Street?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

With a School Committee decision looming on the future of 158 Spring Street, former home of the Kennedy-Longfellow School, one strong option seems to be a new space for the Amigos School, currently housed off of Central Square.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more A new walking trail steps us through our urban wilds<\/a><\/p>\n

When asked about possibilities for the building in March, Committee Member Elizabeth Hudson referenced the district\u2019s immersion and Montessori programs. \u201cI would love to see us sit down and combine what has demonstrably worked well out of what we already have,\u201d Hudson said. \u201cI\u2019m really quite partial to the language immersion programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Amigos School, one of three bilingual immersion programs in Cambridge, is the district\u2019s only K-8 school. It began in 1986 as a program in the former Maynard School, became a full-fledged school in 2001, and shared spaces with other schools prior to its arrival at 15 Upton Street in 2012. That building may be the district\u2019s least modern. It was constructed in 1938-39 as the new home of the Webster Elementary School, and then was renovated before it became home in 1983 to Graham and Parks Alternative School. Graham and Parks moved to its current building in 2003.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The structure at 158 Spring Street is bigger and has a notably larger cafeteria. The Amigos building does not have an auditorium, nor does it have a dedicated field.<\/p>\n

Moving Amigos into the building may serve the district goal to get the building operational before Fall 2028 at the latest.<\/p>\n

Anticipation<\/h2>\n

Parents with children at Amigos contacted by Cambridge Day were mostly excited about the possibility of a new school building.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible building, has a big cafeteria,\u201d said Lymi Rivera, a current Amigos parent and former Kennedy-Longfellow parent. \u201cAnd what\u2019s really thrilling for me is the outdoor space.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paola Rebusco, who has one child at Amigos, said the district has floated the idea of a new building for Amigos at family engagement sessions, and she\u2019s excited about the potential move.<\/p>\n

Priscilla Allen, a parent to two children at Amigos, was more cautious in her enthusiasm. \u201cIf there were to be a move, I would just expect that the appropriate resources and funding is put in place,\u201d Allen said. She lives down the street from the current Amigos building. She said a larger cafeteria and a computer lab would make a longer commute worth it for her family.<\/p>\n

Amigos doesn\u2019t have a dedicated field of its own, so students go to nearby Dana Square Park, which involves crossing Magazine Street. Meanwhile, 158 Spring Street is next to Ahern Field, a 2.6-acre green space. While that field is a selling point for Amigos parents, some have reservations about the city\u2019s decision to install artificial turf in place of real grass at the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Secret Salmon Burger at Henrietta\u2019s Table<\/a><\/p>\n

Allen said that if Amigos moves to Spring Street, the artificial turf would be a \u201chuge red flag.\u201d Rebusco emphasized environmental concerns about microplastics, and added that real grass is more conducive to \u201cchildren\u2019s free play.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, some Amigos parents have rallied together to collect signatures in opposition of the field\u2019s renovations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jia-Jing Lee, who had a child at Kennedy-Longfellow at the time it closed and ran for School Committee in 2025, is concerned about microplastics and chemicals associated with synthetic grass material. She is also worried for neurodivergent students with sensory processing disorders and their experience with the turf, which gets hotter than real grass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are updating the building, you also need to be making sure that it\u2019s serving inclusive design\u201d for the students who will be in school next door, Lee said.<\/p>\n

Maintenance costs<\/h2>\n

The 158 Spring Street building is vacant in part because it needed significant and expensive renovations. Some parents raised questions about funding disparities across the district\u2019s different construction projects. Anne Coburn, a former Kennedy-Longfellow parent and School Committee candidate, worried that the budget will not allow for necessary renovations for the building and for programming that will support high-need populations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For instance, The Tobin Montessori and Darby Vassall Upper Schools and Community Complex represented a nearly $300 million investment by the city. That was, however, a brand new building, not a renovation. The district estimates a $10 million investment in reconstruction at 150 Spring Street, and an additional $7.5 million devoted to Ahern Field next door. But an of the building\u2019s condition by DLR Group estimated more than $50 million was needed to fully renovate it, including nearly $6.8 million for electrical systems and roughly $2.7 million each for plumbing and HVAC needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to have to spend some serious money to get [158 Spring Street] to be suitable for occupancy,\u201d said Fred Fantini, who was a member of the Cambridge School Committee for 40 years and advocated to establish the Amigos School in 2001. But, Fantini sees a move to the 158 Spring Street building as an \u201copportunity to expand\u201d the school\u2019s immersion program to \u201csupport more Spanish learners\u201d now that the school has a long waiting list. Amigos enrolled 421 students this school year, according to the Department of Elementary and Middle School Education, and is a highly sought after school in the district. The former Kennedy-Longfellow school can house up to 650 students.<\/p>\n

It also operates as a choice school, not a proximity school. Under Cambridge\u2019s Controlled Choice Policy, families receive preference for two \u201cproximity schools,\u201d the two schools which are located closest to their residence. Other preference factors include socioeconomic status and family preference. Immersion schools do not give preference to families that live nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fantini suggested that if Amigos does make the move to 158 Spring Street, it should honor the East Cambridge residents who were \u201creally hurt by the closure\u201d of the Kennedy-Longfellow School. He suggested it could offer neighborhood preference for East Cambridge residents. He also thought the name of the school could honor former Kennedy Longfellow families, tossing out\u00a0 \u201cThe Amigos at The Kennedy Longfellow,\u201d as an option.<\/p>\n

Read more $100K in state funding earmarked for Porter Square sculpture<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a School Committee decision looming on the future of 158 Spring Street, former home of the Kennedy-Longfellow School, one strong option seems to be a new space for the Amigos School, currently housed off of Central Square.\u00a0 Read more A new walking trail steps us through our urban wilds When asked about possibilities for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,12,65],"class_list":["post-83","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-amigos-school","tag-education","tag-kennedy-longfellow-school"],"yoast_head":"\nIs the Amigos School headed to Spring Street? - Cambridge Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=83\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is the Amigos School headed to Spring Street? 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