Holyoke’s new middle school will launch a new chapter for about 550 students in grades 6-8 when it opens next fall—but with a name and mascot that are already quite familiar to residents of the city: William R. Peck School.
After months of public engagement and several community surveys to choose an identity for the new school, on Monday, December 9, the School Committee and district leadership made the final determinations:
The new school will retain the name William R. Peck School, the same name as the school that stood at the site of the new middle school for 50 years—from 1973-2023—before it was demolished almost a year ago to make way for the new one.
The school’s mascot will continue to be a phoenix—a mythical bird that symbolizes renewal, hope, and transformation—as it was for the original Peck School from 2016 until it closed in 2023.
The school’s colors will be red and black—the same color scheme used by Holyoke STEM Academy’s STEM Beats music group, which will be moving to the new school when it opens in fall 2025.
The new 107,475-square foot middle school will replace the poorly designed, energy-inefficient original William R. Peck School that was no longer able to meet the needs of a modern education. Funding for the new school was approved by the City of Holyoke and Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in June 2023.
“Choosing a new name, mascot, and colors for the district’s first new school building in 35 years was an important part of the planning process,” said Superintendent Anthony Soto. “Our new school will be a fixture in our community for decades to come, and we wanted an identity for the building that reflects who we are and where we are going. Designing and building a new school was an important component of Holyoke’s efforts to strengthen learning opportunities and reimagine the middle school experience.”
Chief of Strategy and Turnaround Erin Linville and School Committee member Dr. Yadilette Rivera Colon led a community-driven process to select the new school’s name, mascot, and colors. A working group of 13 members met twice—once to narrow down the choices from a write-in survey with more than 200 entries and a second time to analyze the final survey results. More than 1,800 people—including students, families, staff, and community members—participated in the final survey. The working group made its recommendation for the school name to a subcommittee of the School Committee, as well as shared their recommendation for the colors and mascot with the district leadership team.
Superintendent Soto and the district’s leadership team approved their recommendation for mascot and school colors when they met in the morning of December 9. Later that evening, the School Committee approved the school name. If the recommendation had been to change the name of the school to something other than William R. Peck School, the School Committee would have worked collaboratively with the City Council to vote on a name change.
“I am thankful that 80% of current 6th and 7th graders at Holyoke STEM and Metcalf—the students who will be at the new middle school next year—participated in the survey, and I am excited that their top choices of phoenix as the mascot and red and black as the colors were ultimately selected,” said Ms. Linville. “This demonstrates the district’s continued equity commitment to seek out and incorporate the voices of those impacted.”
Working group members included:
Sabrina Bolden (RISE Teacher at Metcalf)
Aaron DiPilla (Music Teacher at STEM)
Sam Garcia (HPS staff member, Sullivan parent)
Jackie Glasheen (School Building Committee, HPS Cabinet)
Kevin Jourdain (City Council, School Building Committee)
Mildred Lefebvre (School Committee)
Erin Linville (Cabinet member)
Jay Nelson (Morgan/Metcalf parent)
Everyln Pabon (Morgan/Metcalf parent) and her two daughters who are Holyoke students
Norm Pacheco (Ethnic Studies Teacher at STEM)
Dr. Yadilette Rivera Colon (School Committee)
Holyoke Public Schools will invite students to submit logo designs for the new middle school. HPS will also work with the School Committee and school leaders to potentially name rooms within the school after other notable leaders who were recommended during the process.