
500 Rutherford Avenue, Suite 210
Charlestown, MA 02129-1628
Hours
Open Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.
*Please arrive no later than 4:45 p.m. for walk-in services.
Our main office serves active and retired educators who are or were employed in Middlesex, Essex, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket and Suffolk counties (in Boston, charter schools only, not Boston public schools).
Since October 2016, our main office has been in Hood Park, the original home of the New England dairy company H.P. Hood and Sons. Our building is conveniently located on the MBTA Orange line, between the Bunker Hill Community College and Sullivan Square stations.
Parking: Free parking (up to 3 hours) is available in the Hood Park parking garage
- Take a ticket upon entering the garage and make note of your entry time.
- Enter your ticket in the machine to exit.
- If your visit is under 3 hours, there is no charge and the gate will open.
Drop-off parking: If you are planning on only dropping off completed applications or other paperwork, there is a driveway in front of the south entrance that is available for short-term parking. If you are planning on parking longer than 10 minutes, please use either visitor or paid parking.

Accessible parking: The Hood Park lot has accessible parking near the north entrance to the building. There are additional street spaces across Hood Park Drive from the south entrance, between 500 Rutherford Ave and The Harvey.
Building accessibility: Our 2nd floor office is accessible. If you require any specific accessibility accommodations, please let us know in advance so that we can arrange to make your visit as convenient and comfortable as possible.
Nearest T station: Sullivan Station on the Orange line, which is about an 8-minute walk to our office. Exit the station and take Cambridge Street toward Schrafft’s City Center. Cross Cambridge at Spice Street and take Spice to its end at Hood Park Drive. At the intersection you will see a pedestrian access way into the Hood Park lot. The north entrance to 500 Rutherford Avenue is straight across the parking lot. From the north entrance, walk through the lobby, turn right, and then left, down a long hallway to the south lobby. You can then take either the elevator or the stairs to the 2nd floor.
Map and directions
For directions to our main office, click “Directions” in the map below.
Driving directions to Hood Park
From the North
- Take Route 93 South to Exit 20 (Sullivan Square).
- Stay to the left, toward Sullivan Square.
- At the end of the ramp, merge onto Maffa Way and stay to the right; at the traffic light, proceed straight ahead into the rotary.
- Take the first exit—a slight right onto Rutherford Avenue.
- In approximately 500 feet, turn right into the north entrance to Hood Park. If you miss the first entrance, use the second entrance, which is about 50 feet beyond the first.
From the South
- Take Route 93 North to Exit 20 (Sullivan Square).
- At the bottom of the ramp, at the light, turn right onto Cambridge Street and stay in the right lane.
- In about 1,000 feet, you’ll come to a traffic light right before a rotary. Stay to the right, and take the first exit—a slight right onto Rutherford Avenue. Stay in the right lane.
- In approximately 500 feet, turn right into the north entrance to Hood Park. If you miss the first entrance, use the second entrance, which is about 50 feet beyond the first.
From the West, via Memorial Drive
- Follow Memorial Drive, passing the Hyatt Regency Hotel on your left.
- Stay left and go under the Massachusetts Avenue bridge.
- Continue to the end of Memorial Drive bearing right onto Edwin Land Boulevard. Pass through two intersections, and continue over the Gilmore bridge.
- Turn left onto Rutherford Avenue. The road will open to four lanes—two that go left to the underpass to Route 99, and two that go straight, to Sullivan Square. Continue straight ahead, toward Sullivan Square, and right of the underpass. After the underpass, you will be able to see Hood Park on the left; the complex is identifiable by the tall red brick Hood Milk smokestack.
- As you head straight, toward Sullivan Square, get in the left of the two lanes. On your left just before you reach the rotary, there is a small turnaround that you can use to make a U-turn and head south on Rutherford Avenue. Take this turnaround, being careful to stop and check for traffic from the right. [Note: If you miss the turnaround, you will come to a rotary. Enter the rotary and go almost full circle to the traffic light. At the light, bear slightly to the right and turn onto Rutherford Avenue.]
- Straight ahead is the north entrance to Hood Park.