The Wyman School Castle and School Property’s future should serve the Woburn community

When I attended Clapp Elementary, I remember admiring the Wyman school. I always thought it was so cool that kids my age had the chance to learn in a building that was almost straight out of a history book. Not many kids can say they learned their ABCs in a castle.

Years later, the Wyman closed and its fate is being determined. While it remains vacant today, it’s important to preserve the building and school property not only for its historical significance, but for how it can serve our community.

I grew up in Woburn. I started my education at the Clapp and graduated from Woburn High. I embody the Tanner spirit, evident through my immersion in city league basketball and soccer and even a season participating in Pop Warner football. I loved sports growing up, especially soccer, so I never explored other activities outside of school, and even if I wanted to, I didn’t know where to look.

It wasn’t until my senior year of high school, specifically my time on the yearbook staff, where I discovered my love for creative writing and had the opportunity to collaborate with other like-minded creatives. After high school, I attended Northeastern University, where I will graduate in April 2026 with a degree in journalism. That experience allowed me to meet others, many of whom started writing much earlier than I did because of the creative opportunities they had growing up.

Now, as I think back on my sports-centered youth, I realize that I would have appreciated the chance to have a creative outlet outside of school. With the Wyman Castle and school property vacant, this is the time to act on creating an arts and community center — a space for both creatives and community members that Woburn has long been without.

Woburn does not have many locations for people to go to meet others in the arts field in a community space to collaborate and work with one another. The Woburn Public Library is the first place that comes to mind when offering free creative activities, but beyond that, there are no places within Woburn that are free and accessible arts and community areas.

Opening an arts and community center at the Wyman Castle and school property is not only a way to encourage community engagement, but it is a way to support the entire community — in more ways than one. While the arts serve as a means of creative expression, it is also beneficial for learning and development. According to a National Endowment for the Arts study, out-of-school arts participation is positively correlated with social-emotional development and academic achievement, which includes higher test scores and critical thinking skills.

A dedicated community space allows for more accessible learning by creating mentorship opportunities outside of school. I’ve seen this firsthand through my work with high school students developing their journalism skills and through tutoring peers in college in subjects ranging from economics to discrete math. I’ve also benefited from one-on-one learning myself, whether it’s through tutoring or office hours with teaching assistants. Oftentimes, individualized learning experiences are the most impactful, and that’s just one positive aspect that an arts and community center would bring to out-of-school education.

Now is the time to save and restore the Wyman Castle and school property — by turning it into a space where the multigenerations of Woburn’s families can come together.
An arts and community center is not just something that creatives, like myself, want, but something that Woburn needs.