About Acton-Boxborough Regional School District
The Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (ABRSD) is a comprehensive PreK-12 public school system serving approximately 5,300 students in the communities of Acton and Boxborough, located about 20 miles northwest of Boston. The district’s mission is to develop engaged, well-balanced learners through collaborative and caring relationships, with a strong commitment to the values of Wellness, Equity, and Engagement. ABRSD includes nine schools: an early childhood program, six elementary schools, a junior high school, and a high school.
Why They Are a 2024 Climate Leader
Nationally recognized as one of the first-ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools awardees, Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (ABRSD) is an exemplar of sustainability within the educational sector. This accolade celebrates institutions that demonstrate excellence in reducing environmental impact and associated costs, fostering the health and well-being of students and staff, and implementing effective interdisciplinary sustainability education that incorporates STEM education, civic skills, and green career paths.
Boardwalk Campus, a new construction project that combined elementary schools for the students of the ABRSD meets these standards with flying colors. ABRSD embarked on the Boardwalk Campus project through the Mass Save Path 1: Net Zero and Low EUI Buildings program to relocate two of its elementary schools into a single new energy-efficient building. The goal was to build an all-electric, geothermal school that could achieve net zero energy status and would serve as an example to other schools across New England of sustainable new construction.
The Eversource and ABRSD teams worked together toward an ambitious Energy Use Intensity (EUI) goal of 23.1 – well below the Massachusetts school median EUI score of 65 – and surpassed that target. EUI normalizes total annual energy consumption by square feet, making it a key indicator of energy performance. The district worked with many partners critical to the project’s success, including DavEnergy to provide ongoing commissioning and reviews of the building’s energy use to maintain low EUI. The Boardwalk Campus is fully electric, including a commercial scale kitchen. The project incorporates several advanced energy-efficient measures, such as enhanced insulation, ground-source heat pumps, demand-control ventilation, and energy recovery. The school plays a role crucial to the district’s overarching efforts and comprehensive approach in its sustainability efforts.
The Acton-Boxborough Regional School District’s leadership worked closely with Eversource on this project and continues to showcase the elementary school at various venues, making them a true advocate and inspiration on both the state and national level.
