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Updated June 25, 2025, at 4:39 p.m.

The Kennedy-Longfellow School building will reopen as a public school within the district, Cambridge Public Schools interim superintendent David G. Murphy confirmed in a presentation on Monday.

The announcement comes after a unanimous School Committee vote closed K-Lo — a school which primarily served “high-needs” students, including English language learners, low-income students, and students with disabilities — in December. The school had been facing persistent underenrollment, underperformance, and ongoing facility issues.

While Monday’s meeting provided some clarity on the building’s future, Murphy noted that the type of school that will reoccupy the building and the project’s timeline remain uncertain.

“When we closed the Kennedy-Longfellow in December, I made very clear that it was my hope that this building would be open with a school in it by the fall of 2026,” Murphy said.

“The world has evolved in a variety of ways in the last six months, and not necessarily in a favorable way for people that are trying to move a school system around and get more kids into high performance seats,” he added.

At the beginning of the presentation Murphy reiterated the factors that led to the school’s closure, noting that in 2022, the city deemed K-Lo the building “most in need of significant investment” across the district.

Despite the building’s need for repair, Murphy emphasized that the space “represents an incredibly valuable asset” for the district and that any repurposing of the building must focus on serving the city’s high-needs students as best as possible.

“This building represents an opportunity for us to develop the types of programming that have instructional synergies in a way that supports our highest needs students.”

Murphy shared a few possible outcomes for the building — including a current CPS school moving into the space or the establishment of universal preschool. Murphy said that the district will review options in the fall to determine which one best utilizes available resources.

“That’s where we get into exactly what’s the program, what’s the school, what’s the combination of schools that is going to advance our goal of putting more students in positions to succeed, with a particular emphasis on our students in high-need populations,” he said.

During the presentation, Murphy outlined a preliminary timeline for the project. This summer, the district plans to conduct a feasibility analysis of the building and host public engagement forums to gather input from parents and residents. While the final timeline remains uncertain, Murphy assured listeners that he intends for the building to open no later than the 2027-28 school year.

Murphy explained that the city has allocated a budget of $10 million for the building investment. While he touched upon improving building aesthetics and instructional facilities, he noted that operational expenses — including plumbing and HVAC — will take priority.

“I recognize the impact that closing a school has on people. I recognize the impact it has on staff, and I recognize the impact that it has on kids. It’s not something we want to do on a regular basis,” Murphy said.

“It is something you as a community will have to do again if we don’t shift strategies in terms of how we build out these school communities,” he added.

Correction: June 25, 2025

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that interim superintendent David G. Murphy said the Kennedy-Longfellow building will open no later than the 2026-27 school year. In fact, it will open by the 2027-28 school year, according to Murphy.

—Staff writer Ayaan Ahmad can be reached at ayaan.ahmad@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @AyaanAhmad2024.

—Staff writer Caroline G. Hennigan can be reached at caroline.hennigan@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cghennigan.