Absent from the first day of school in Harvard on Wednesday were a few things: crumbling concrete and caution tape, dazed and confused sixth-graders, and a summer’s worth of overgrown weeds. Students returned on Wednesday, Sept. 2, to Hildreth Elementary and the Bromfield schools to find freshly painted walls, new flooring, rebuilt entrances, updated bathrooms, and other improvements completed by the district’s facilities staff.
The work ranged from major accessibility and safety improvements to smaller projects supporting Superintendent Dana Labb’s theme for his first year at the helm of the Harvard Public Schools: “New beginnings, building on the past.”
In an interview with the Press, Labb said schools facilities director John Tarlach worked tirelessly during the 11 weeks students were enjoying summer break. “My hope is that [the community] sees that there’s a lot of pride in the schools,” Labb said. “I can’t say enough about John and his team. They’ve really worked really hard this summer in an effort to take greater pride in Harvard’s schools, and in particular the aging Bromfield building.”
“We wanted to make it look really good for students, staff, and families when they come back,” Tarlach said. “I hope it’s evident and visible that we want to have kids and families and staff feeling really good about the start of the year.”
At Bromfield, one of the most noticeable changes is to the back of the building, near the tennis and basketball courts, where a deteriorating staircase was completely rebuilt. Last year, the entrance was closed with caution tape to keep students safe from the failing concrete. In addition to stairs, an adjacent ramp and retaining wall were also constructed, bringing the entrance into ADA compliance and creating an improved access point for students entering from the Pond Road parking lot.
Signage at both schools will help new and returning students, as well as visitors, navigate the buildings. In Bromfield’s main lobby, a “Middle School” designation aims to keep confused newcomers from wandering the high school in search of grades 6 through 8. At both schools, signs that include Braille direct people to common areas such as the cafeterias and libraries.
Inside Bromfield, flooring work has been completed throughout classrooms and hallways to create a more consistent look. Security improvements include installing four new steel exterior doors and vape sensors in student bathrooms. The sensors are designed to detect vapor from both tobacco and marijuana products and alert school staff when vaping occurs in the building.
HES improvements
At Hildreth Elementary School, work also began outside, where teachers and staff volunteered to clean up accumulated trash around the dumpster and other areas surrounding the building. Inside, the cafeteria floor and conference room floors have been replaced in the sections that began peeling last fall. Tarlach identified the problem in November 2025, when the adhesive used to secure the flooring failed, and was out of warranty.
A new gate was installed separating the early childhood playground from the playground used by older students, replacing netting that had previously divided the spaces. Labb said he is also exploring the addition of shade sails to the playground area.
A more complicated issue involves the elementary school’s elevator. While the elevator itself is operational, the emergency generator that provides power in the event of a grid outage is not. “All summer we’ve been working on that … we were not able to get it running,” said Labb. “We had to ask Jeff Hayes (building commissioner and inspector for the town) for a waiver for the elevator, which we were provided with, and the state agreed to let us open school.”
The waiver buys the school 30 days to get the generator repaired. Labb said workers made multiple attempts to diagnose and fix the problem; parts were ordered and replaced, but without success. He said the school is applying for a variance that would allow the generator to be disconnected from the elevator system and replaced with a battery backup capable of moving the elevator to the nearest floor and opening its doors during a power outage. The district is pricing that option while continuing to pursue repairs to the existing generator. “The ultimate goal is to have the generator fixed,” said Labb.
Beyond the buildings
The district’s newly purchased 14-passenger vehicle is now registered and in service and will be used during the year to transport students, primarily to athletic events.
Labb says the curriculum remains the same. The Press reported the district’s new phone-free policy last week, and the superintendent says the artificial intelligence policy remains unchanged, although he and his staff will continue to refine how it is implemented in individual classrooms. The School Committee adopted the policy in July of last year. It is available on the district’s website.
The superintendent underscored all the hard work conducted during the weeks there were no students in the buildings. “There’s no pause button,” said Labb. “I just hope folks understand [that] it’s a lot of effort that goes into that first day. I wish I could pay [the faculty and staff] more, and do more for them, but I want them to know that they’re really appreciated.”
Improvements at a glance
Bromfield School
- Rebuilt back entrance staircase and added ramp for ADA-compliant access, restoring access from the rear and Pond Road parking lots; rebuilt staircase leading to the bike racks.
- Added four exterior steel doors for security.
- Replaced classroom and hallway flooring.
- Replaced partitions in restrooms; added new flooring in two staff bathrooms and one student bathroom; received dividers to install between urinals, as requested by students.
- Installed new ceiling tiles and fresh paint throughout the building.
- Installed cafeteria dishwasher and outdoor picnic table.
Hildreth Elementary School
- Replaced flooring in the cafeteria and conference room.
- Cleaned the area around the dumpster and school exterior, including removing accumulated trash and debris.
- Installed new gate separating the early childhood playground from the playground used by older students, replacing the netting that previously divided the spaces.
- Planned for new shade sails for outdoor play areas, with district officials scheduled to meet with vendors after the start of school.
