Lynn, Mass., a city of roughly 103,000 that lies about a half-hour drive from Boston, has tried an unusual approach to create more space in its schools.
The city has long needed more physical space for its growing number of public school students. While enrollment across the state fell 6 percent over the past decade, it rose 8 percent in Lynn. But building a new school isn’t easy, or cheap.
The city opted instead to convert a former bank headquarters into space for two schools — a collegiate academy founded in 2022, and a high school success academy — giving them room to grow. That shift also opened up space in the success academy’s former building, allowing the city to open a new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) school…