City of Methuen Master Plan

Public Facilities and Services
• Central School: Used by the Methuen School Department for the school administration offices.
Head Start programs operate out of the building’s basement.
• Pleasant Valley School: Owned by the City and used as a before and after childcare facility and a
full day pre-school. The school is open from Monday through Friday, 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, and
operates twelve months a year. Parents pay for the before and after school care on a sliding
scale (according to need) for pre-school. The building was recently renovated including
installing air conditioning, but it still does not have an elevator. There is a waiting list for the
programs offered at Pleasant Valley School. The list is currently approximately 35 children and
seems to be increasing as additional housing is being developed in the area. Possibilities for
expansion include adding another “permanent portable” unit such as the one currently used for
the pre-school or they could operate a satellite program out of another school facility.
• Currier School: Converted to the Methuen Adult Learning Center. The building was renovated in
1995 with a HUD grant for use for adult education. This is a School Department program
(funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education) providing adult basic education (GED)
and English as a Second Language classes. In 2005 there were students from 28 countries
speaking 17 languages (the majority spoke Spanish, but there were many Asian and Middle
Eastern languages as well). The City maintains the building and grounds and provides a small
subsidy for operating costs. The Center is open from Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. and Monday and Wednesday from 6:00 pm – 9:00 p.m. There are 150 state-funded
slots (classrooms seats used day and night) and 300 individuals on the waiting list at any one
time. There is a need for additional classroom space as well as a significant need for computers
(currently students must go to the Timony School to use computers there). Three partnerships
between the Center and other City and State programs further the Center’s services to a wider
population:
• Memorandum of Agreement with the Nevins Memorial Library and Literacy
Volunteers who are trained to teach ESL classes to those who cannot be
accommodated at the Adult Learning Center (currently there are 32 individuals
benefiting from this partnership);
• Memorandum of Agreement with Valley Works Career Center provides job search
support and training to many of the Adult Learning Center students; and
• Memorandum of Agreement with the Methuen Even Start Program run out of the
YMCA provides ESL and early childhood intervention to parents and their younger
than five year old children in a coordinated way. This program is funded by the State
DOE.
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