Politics & Government

Acera School Relocating From Melrose to Winchester

With plans to expand in the future, the Acera School will be relocating from Melrose to Lowell Street in Winchester in September.

With its eyes set on expansion, Acera, the Massachusetts School of Science, Creativity and Leadership, will be relocating from Melrose to Winchester in September, according to a press statement.

In late March, the Winchester Zoning Board of Appeals approved Anova Inc's request for a special permit and site plan review to relocate the school to Lowell Street. 

"Acera will expand into (a) high school in coming years to keep pace with current students," reads the statement. Acera, which serves students from communities such as Somerville, Newton, Belmont, Winchester, Medford, Lexington, Woburn and Melrose, has an enrollment of 59 students in grades K-8, according to founder and co-director Courtney Dickinson.

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The Acera School, which used to operate out of the Beebe School on West Foster Street and is currently located at 645 Main St. in Melrose, will be moving to 5 Lowell St. near the Woburn line. By the time the relocation occurs, the school will have been open for more than three years.

"Acera enables high-ability students to learn based upon ability and motivation in a supportive, energetic environment, to help them become the best version of themselves," reads the school's website.

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"...We are eager to own a building and have a permanent home that will allow us to serve more students whose needs aren’t met in traditional schooling programs," Dickinson said in the statement. "Our students now come from 12 cities and towns. It is an honor and privilege to serve these incredibly creative and bright students. I feel proud to be part of a faculty completely devoted to the potential and spirit of each of our students."

When it comes to the typical school day at Acera, Dickinson described the educational environment.

"You might find the lower elementary classes acting out the roles in protein synthesis, upper elementary students engineering a project which solves a problem faced by a character in their literature group book, and our middle schoolers immersed in a Model UN debate," Dickinson said in the statement, adding that the school has formed partnerships with MIT, Tufts, Museum of Science and Harvard.

Information sessions are slated for April 9 at 9:30 a.m., May 13 at 7:30 p.m. and May 28 at 9:30 a.m. at the school. 


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