by Loumarie I. Rodriguez
BRIDGEWATER-ROXBURY-WASHINGTON — Architects Fletcher-Thompson and ARCADIS told the Region 12 Board of Education at its Monday, December 16, meeting, their findings of what residents would like to see in a new consolidated elementary school building.
Representatives from both firms and O&G Industries presented a PowerPoint presentation on those findings, gleaned from meetings in each of the region’s three towns, during which the firms asked residents what they would like to see in s consolidated Pre-K to Grade 5 elementary school building.
“What we were looking for from the three community meetings was feedback on what would you like to see, what are your concerns, what would be your wants and priorities and so forth with the new Pre-K to Grade 5 school,” said Angela Cayhill of Fletcher-Thompson. “This is a part of the process as designers.”
Ms. Cayhill explained representatives of Fletcher-Thompson also gets feedback from administrators, teachers and other staff members. She said it’s important to hear directly from the community since each school district is different.
The current plan of design would be for 300 students, which is the smallest category for reimbursement for Connecticut.
The new building would have some wiggle room in case there is an increase in population in the next few years.
“We have enrollment projections, but there was definite concern over how could we design so we don’t over-build, yet we don’t want to under-build either,” Ms. Cayhill said.
“We want to be able to provide any room for expansion that might happen in the future.”
While residents in the three towns had different, local concerns, they did share common ideas for the new school building.
One main concern was that a new school have a strong community feel. Other common suggestions were safety and security, cost-efficient design, spaces to support Common Core standards, technology and sustainabilty and common use of the school.
Other items addressed were the need for a campus feel and the relationship between the elementary school and Shepaug Middle High School.
“What do you not have in your existing elementary schools that maybe the students and the community would look forward to?” Ms. Cayhill asked. “A lot of the groups came back to the core of students’ education which is their basic curriculum.
“These students are very high performing in the schools where they are and that has to be maintained. The focus should be on students’ performance and the core educational needs of the students.”
Residents wanted a new elementary school building to be self-sustainable and energy efficient.
Daniel L. Casinelli, a principal at Fletcher-Thompson, said the next step is to explore conceptual designs based on program needs and residents’ input.
The firm plans to do a site visit and make sure the area is able to support the building.
Diagrams and a conceptual design will be created to provide residents with images of what the elementary school will look like. A cost estimate will be created after the conceptual design is finalized.
“One of the ideas that we looked at was the pond in the back of the site and how to [use] that [in] the design of the building,” said Mr. Casinelli. “Also use [the pond[] as an educational tool for students or we can look at other parts of the site.”
He said Fletcher-Thompson is trying to identify all items necessary in order to create the cost estimate. After gathering information, the firm will create a design narrative.
The narrative will give details of the design approach and the elements that will be incorporated into the building. The narrative is given to an estimator who estimates the cost of work.
Once the cost is determined, the firm will do an analysis to make sure everything is covered.
The design process should take 30 to 35 days to complete and by the end of February, should be ready to present, Mr. Casinelli said.
Kenneth Biega, assistant vice president of O&G Industries, told the board that by the time Fletcher-Thompson comes out with a design, his company will be ready with the estimate.
“We’ve done more schools than anyone in the state,” said Mr. Biega. “We have the date and we know what it’s going to cost per square inch, whether it’s an elementary school or a high school.”
Superintendent Dr. Patricia Cosentino told the board the representatives were not there to sell the idea of the new school, but only to present facts of what it will include.
Flyers and pamphlets can be handed out to parents or community members with the information on the new elementary building.
Board member Peter Tagley said he was appalled by the way the three meetings in the towns were conducted. He did not like there was not enough residents present at the meetings and the firms have not given enough information on the new elementary school.
He also said there is not enough of a voice from residents on what direction the Board of Education should be going.
Board member Michelle Gorra said the architects were trying to get a sense of the community and what they would look for in the design for the elementary school.
“It’s a school building and everything is straight-forward in most of the things that need to go into it,” said Ms. Gorra. “They [the firms] are going to come back with some ideas with plenty of room for input and it wasn’t the time for everyone to be discussing the project or the whole concept of the referendum.”
Ms. Gorra said the community will be able to weigh in later on the concepts the firm develops.
Board member Alan Brown attempted to make a motion to bring the question of a new consolidated school, without cost estimates, to a referendum.
However, member Greg Cava tabled the motion with a majority vote.
Chairman James Hirschfield, during his report, said it has been brought to his attention that both the Building and Facilities Committees are suffering from lack of board representation.
Mr. Hirschfield decided to terminate the Building Committee and have the facilities committee take over.
He said that if residents approve a new elementary school building, and he is still chair, then he will appoint a permanent building committee.
“There is some concern about the small representation of the board on these committees and how it’s hard to get a consensus because of the small representation,” said Mr. Hirschfield. “There’s been an issue raised on advisability of having members from the general public on these committees and also members of staff.”
Teresa DeBrito, director of curriculum and instruction for the region, gave an update on where Region 12 stands in the School Performance Index and the District Performance Index.
According to Ms. DeBrito, each student has an individual performance index developed by the state. The index is based on how a student scored on the CMT or CAPT.
If a student reaches goal or advances then he or she receives 100 percent credit; proficient counts as 67 percent; basic as 33 percent; below basic there is no credit.
Connecticut has the goal for students to reach 88 percent.
Burnham School in Bridgewater has a 95.5, which categorizes the school as excelling. Booth Free School in Roxbury scored 93.7 and Washington Primary 90.
Shepaug Middle School received a score of 91.4 and the high school received 84.1.
According to Ms. DeBrito, the scores have improved compared to last year.
Dr. Cosentino announced to the board she won a trip through the program Lifetouch Memory Mission. She will be traveling to Constanza, Dominican Republic, from January 21 to 28 and will be helping construct a school while connecting with other administrators from across the U.S. and other countries.
During that week, she plans a Google chat session with Shepaug on Friday, January 24, during which she will update students and the community on her progress in Constanza.
Leading up to the trip, Dr. Cosentino will visit Region 12 schools to create excitement for the trip. Any money she raises from now to the time of the trip, she will use for supplies to help the school.
The board approved two motions to create a smoke-free environment at Shepaug. The second motion removed an outdated policy that allowed students to smoke with a parent’s permission.
Representatives from both firms and O&G Industries presented a PowerPoint presentation on those findings, gleaned from meetings in each of the region’s three towns, during which the firms asked residents what they would like to see in s consolidated Pre-K to Grade 5 elementary school building.
“What we were looking for from the three community meetings was feedback on what would you like to see, what are your concerns, what would be your wants and priorities and so forth with the new Pre-K to Grade 5 school,” said Angela Cayhill of Fletcher-Thompson. “This is a part of the process as designers.”
Ms. Cayhill explained representatives of Fletcher-Thompson also gets feedback from administrators, teachers and other staff members. She said it’s important to hear directly from the community since each school district is different.
The new building would have some wiggle room in case there is an increase in population in the next few years.
“We have enrollment projections, but there was definite concern over how could we design so we don’t over-build, yet we don’t want to under-build either,” Ms. Cayhill said.
“We want to be able to provide any room for expansion that might happen in the future.”
While residents in the three towns had different, local concerns, they did share common ideas for the new school building.
One main concern was that a new school have a strong community feel. Other common suggestions were safety and security, cost-efficient design, spaces to support Common Core standards, technology and sustainabilty and common use of the school.
Other items addressed were the need for a campus feel and the relationship between the elementary school and Shepaug Middle High School.
“What do you not have in your existing elementary schools that maybe the students and the community would look forward to?” Ms. Cayhill asked. “A lot of the groups came back to the core of students’ education which is their basic curriculum.
“These students are very high performing in the schools where they are and that has to be maintained. The focus should be on students’ performance and the core educational needs of the students.”
Residents wanted a new elementary school building to be self-sustainable and energy efficient.
Daniel L. Casinelli, a principal at Fletcher-Thompson, said the next step is to explore conceptual designs based on program needs and residents’ input.
The firm plans to do a site visit and make sure the area is able to support the building.
Diagrams and a conceptual design will be created to provide residents with images of what the elementary school will look like. A cost estimate will be created after the conceptual design is finalized.
“One of the ideas that we looked at was the pond in the back of the site and how to [use] that [in] the design of the building,” said Mr. Casinelli. “Also use [the pond[] as an educational tool for students or we can look at other parts of the site.”
He said Fletcher-Thompson is trying to identify all items necessary in order to create the cost estimate. After gathering information, the firm will create a design narrative.
The narrative will give details of the design approach and the elements that will be incorporated into the building. The narrative is given to an estimator who estimates the cost of work.
Once the cost is determined, the firm will do an analysis to make sure everything is covered.
The design process should take 30 to 35 days to complete and by the end of February, should be ready to present, Mr. Casinelli said.
Kenneth Biega, assistant vice president of O&G Industries, told the board that by the time Fletcher-Thompson comes out with a design, his company will be ready with the estimate.
“We’ve done more schools than anyone in the state,” said Mr. Biega. “We have the date and we know what it’s going to cost per square inch, whether it’s an elementary school or a high school.”
Superintendent Dr. Patricia Cosentino told the board the representatives were not there to sell the idea of the new school, but only to present facts of what it will include.
Flyers and pamphlets can be handed out to parents or community members with the information on the new elementary building.
Board member Peter Tagley said he was appalled by the way the three meetings in the towns were conducted. He did not like there was not enough residents present at the meetings and the firms have not given enough information on the new elementary school.
He also said there is not enough of a voice from residents on what direction the Board of Education should be going.
Board member Michelle Gorra said the architects were trying to get a sense of the community and what they would look for in the design for the elementary school.
“It’s a school building and everything is straight-forward in most of the things that need to go into it,” said Ms. Gorra. “They [the firms] are going to come back with some ideas with plenty of room for input and it wasn’t the time for everyone to be discussing the project or the whole concept of the referendum.”
Ms. Gorra said the community will be able to weigh in later on the concepts the firm develops.
Board member Alan Brown attempted to make a motion to bring the question of a new consolidated school, without cost estimates, to a referendum.
However, member Greg Cava tabled the motion with a majority vote.
Chairman James Hirschfield, during his report, said it has been brought to his attention that both the Building and Facilities Committees are suffering from lack of board representation.
Mr. Hirschfield decided to terminate the Building Committee and have the facilities committee take over.
He said that if residents approve a new elementary school building, and he is still chair, then he will appoint a permanent building committee.
“There is some concern about the small representation of the board on these committees and how it’s hard to get a consensus because of the small representation,” said Mr. Hirschfield. “There’s been an issue raised on advisability of having members from the general public on these committees and also members of staff.”
Teresa DeBrito, director of curriculum and instruction for the region, gave an update on where Region 12 stands in the School Performance Index and the District Performance Index.
According to Ms. DeBrito, each student has an individual performance index developed by the state. The index is based on how a student scored on the CMT or CAPT.
If a student reaches goal or advances then he or she receives 100 percent credit; proficient counts as 67 percent; basic as 33 percent; below basic there is no credit.
Connecticut has the goal for students to reach 88 percent.
Burnham School in Bridgewater has a 95.5, which categorizes the school as excelling. Booth Free School in Roxbury scored 93.7 and Washington Primary 90.
Shepaug Middle School received a score of 91.4 and the high school received 84.1.
According to Ms. DeBrito, the scores have improved compared to last year.
Dr. Cosentino announced to the board she won a trip through the program Lifetouch Memory Mission. She will be traveling to Constanza, Dominican Republic, from January 21 to 28 and will be helping construct a school while connecting with other administrators from across the U.S. and other countries.
During that week, she plans a Google chat session with Shepaug on Friday, January 24, during which she will update students and the community on her progress in Constanza.
Leading up to the trip, Dr. Cosentino will visit Region 12 schools to create excitement for the trip. Any money she raises from now to the time of the trip, she will use for supplies to help the school.
The board approved two motions to create a smoke-free environment at Shepaug. The second motion removed an outdated policy that allowed students to smoke with a parent’s permission.
