Josiah Quincy Upper School Opens and Brings New Opportunities to Boston’s Chinatown Neighborhood!
Boston’s newest public school building is officially open, with learning in full swing for 650 students across grades 6-12. Located in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood, the Josiah Quincy Upper School (JQUS) advances the City’s goals for high-level, inclusive education and environmental sustainability, providing Boston Public Schools students with state-of-the-art learning facilities that also serve the local community.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony brought city, state, and school officials, project team members, and the JQUS community together to celebrate the new middle high school and the many opportunities it will bring for both Boston students and residents. As one of the first projects to open under the Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools, JQUS is leading the way with a design that prioritizes equity, sustainability, and a community focus. The school is also on track to achieve LEED Platinum certification, further cementing its status as a model for resilient, sustainable architecture.
“If you think about a school as the physical embodiment of all the talent, imagination, and possibility of the young people it serves — that is this building!”
Michelle Wu | Mayor, City of Boston
One focal point of the school’s environment- and community-focused design is the new rooftop green space. HMFH’s design transformed the high-rise school’s rooftop into an outdoor learning oasis, complete with a STEM classroom, native plantings, walking paths, and seating areas. Located near two highways on just one acre of land, JQUS’s site in a dense, urban environment initially presented challenges. However, the rooftop brings new life to Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood, which has the lowest green space per capita in the City. The benefits of this landscaped roof will not only positively impact the student body but the entire neighborhood community who can also experience health and climate benefits. Specifically, the green roof will help reduce urban heat-island effect and stormwater runoff, increase biodiversity, and mitigate air pollution from the highway.
HMFH’s nature-focused design extends beyond the rooftop. Inside the school, south-facing classrooms with expansive windows deliver ample daylight to students, while an innovative HVAC system draws in filtered air to ensure a healthy interior environment with optimal air quality in all classrooms.
Notably, the all-electric, zero-carbon middle high school will be a resource for the greater community as well as its student body, allowing public access to community-oriented shared spaces on the first and second floors, including the cafeteria, media center, black box theater, auditorium, and gymnasium.
“This state-of-the-art facility represents our unwavering commitment to providing a world-class education in an environment that nurtures and inspires.”
Mary Skipper | Superintendent, Boston Public Schools
While the ribbon-cutting signifies JQUS’s official opening, students had returned to school a week earlier and have since been enjoying the new facilities, including collaborative project areas, modern labs, small group workrooms, breakout areas, and flexible furniture designed to support a variety of learning modes. With its full range of educational amenities and International Baccalaureate program offerings, its emphasis on sustainable, healthy, and welcoming environments, and its public-facing spaces for community use, the Josiah Quincy Upper School will be an often-used and highly valued resource by both students and the surrounding neighborhood.
