The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in Science. The lowest is 31% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Memorial Park
Memorial Park in Rockland, Massachusetts, is a closed public school. It was a regular elementary school that served the Rockland district until it was replaced by new construction. The school is no longer operating, and its building was demolished. For a reader looking at data from before the closure, the most recent state assessment results show that in the 2022-23 school year, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were below the midpoint of performance in Massachusetts. In math, roughly a third of students scored at the proficient level or above, and in English language arts the share was similar. These results come from the state’s NextGen MCAS tests for grades three through eight. Science results are available only from a much earlier year, the 2011-12 school year, when a different assessment was used, making that data too old to inform current judgments. No enrollment, demographic, or program data was available for this school, so a picture of the student body or course offerings cannot be drawn from the record. The school’s grade span was not clearly specified in the data, but publicly reported information indicates it served elementary grades before its closure.
The school’s closure is part of a broader facility upgrade in Rockland. According to publicly reported information, Phelps Elementary School opened in 2022, replacing both Memorial Park and Jefferson Elementary. Those older buildings were demolished in 2022 and 2023. The district also completed a new middle school and renovated the high school in recent years. Rockland Public Schools undertook significant capital construction during this period, a major infrastructure investment that would have shaped district finances and facilities for years.
Rockland itself is a primarily residential suburb of Boston in Plymouth County, known historically for shoe manufacturing. Today it is home to several large employers, including the U.S. headquarters of a biotechnology company and the largest publicly traded commercial bank headquartered in Massachusetts. The town has a suburban character with commercial corridors along its main roads. Housing values in the area are above the national benchmark, reflecting the Boston region’s elevated market. The town has been working on an updated Housing Production Plan and is repurposing former industrial mills for housing and artist spaces, indicating incremental growth and development efforts.
Because Memorial Park is closed, the relevant academic pathway for a family in Rockland today would be the elementary schools that replaced it: Phelps Elementary or R. Stewart Esten Elementary, both serving kindergarten through fourth grade. Those schools are not covered in this profile. The middle school and high school are also separate. A parent researching this school should understand that it no longer exists; the test data above is from its final year of operation and reflects performance before the consolidation and new construction. The district’s capital investments suggest a focus on updated facilities, but how that translates into current academic outcomes would require looking at the active schools.
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