Caleb Dustin Hunking School
HAVERHILL, MA
Project Feasibility
In 2011, the Caleb Dustin Hunking Middle School was found to have catastrophic structural deficiencies, leaving portions of the building unsafe for occupancy. The City of Haverhill successfully petitioned the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for emergency entry into the feasibility process and retained JCJ Architecture to evaluate long-term solutions under an accelerated schedule.
Working closely with the City, the MSBA, community stakeholders and the Owner’s Project Manager, JCJ evaluated a full range of alternatives, including renovation, replacement, relocation and district-wide grade reconfiguration. Through that process, the team recognized an opportunity to address not only the structural failure of the existing middle school, but also overcrowding elsewhere in the district. The preferred solution—a new PreK-8 school constructed on the existing site using a build-new/tear-down approach—maximized MSBA reimbursement while delivering broader educational benefits for the community. The plan received strong support from City Council and was approved by voters by a three-to-one margin.
Design
The new 148,000-square-foot Hunking School creates an intimate educational environment within a school serving 1,000 students. Organized into distinct learning communities, the building provides separate entrances for the Lower School (PreK-3) and Upper School (Grades 6-8), while a centrally located academy for Grades 4 and 5 bridges the two. Shared core spaces—including the media center, gymnasium, cafeteria and student support services—strengthen connections across the school while maintaining an age-appropriate scale for each cohort.
Inspired by the character of Haverhill’s historic mill architecture, the building is filled with daylight and organized to maximize transparency and visibility throughout the learning environment. Working closely with the Owner, Josslin Lesser & Associates (Owner’s Project Manager) and Shawmut Construction (Construction Manager), JCJ helped develop strategies that allowed construction to proceed while students remained on campus, enabling occupancy ahead of schedule and under budget.
