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With only one item on the agenda, last night’s Lowell High School subcommittee meeting was unusual from the start. The fact that members from the Lowell Plan, a group of local business leaders; and Adam Baacke, from the city’s Division of Planning and Development; also attended the meeting added to its unique tenor. The focus was to discuss DPD’s facilities assessment of the high school, a comprehensive, objective report that surveyed the current physical plant and compared it to state standards. This action is a result of a partnership between the Lowell Plan, the city, and the school department to meet the needs of LHS students in the 21^st century. As Jim Cook, executive director for the Lowell Plan, explains, “It’s really about getting to excellence. How can we make our high school better?” Although the plant deficiencies noted in the report were worse than I expected, it also showed there isn’t a direct correlation between top-notch facilities and student performance. Our facility is lacking in some key areas, yet our students are holding their own in terms of MCAS scores when compared to other schools with similar demographics—even those with much better facilities. Clearly, it’s not just about bricks and mortar; high quality instruction and programming are the true foundation of a good learning environment. That said, the physical space deficiencies in key areas need immediate attention: For instance, our library media center should be three times larger than it is given the student population, the space for special education services is also about one third the size it should be, and the science labs do not come close to serving student needs. (We currently have eight small labs—none meeting the recommended size—and with the state’s new science requirements, we will need 20.) The good news is we’re working together to develop a plan for not only our next step regarding the facility, but also where the school should be in the next 5-10 years. The next step is for the school department to develop its programmatic goals for the high school. From there, we will work together because partnerships are the only way to make that vision a reality. By joining with the business community and government leaders, as well as exploring options with groups such as the Revolving Museum, UMass Lowell, and Middlesex CC, there is definitive, sustainable motion toward excellence—both in terms of educational programming and the facility at Lowell High School. Stay tuned.