Boston school officials announced Tuesday they have reached significant milestones in their effort to overhaul the system’s aging buildings and adjust to changing enrollment — purchasing a site in East Boston for a school, finalizing a land deal in Chinatown for another school, and approving plans for 17 elementary schools to add sixth grade.
Officials also revealed that the McCormack Middle School in Dorchester would merge with Boston Community Leadership Academy in Hyde Park and that they would accelerate the closing of the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown. Officials, who are phasing out middle schools, said they are targeting a June 2021 closure for the Edwards because its building is needed to accommodate a boom of younger students in the area.