An outreach meeting for parents and the public will take place early in March to share what will happen over the summer -- and what will be there when kids return to school in the fall –  as construction begins on Branford's Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) $88.2 million alteration/extension project. The project will receive a $30 million state reimbursement.

Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez told Zip06/The Sound the date for the early March info session will be announced shortly through Infinite Campus for parents, at the school website here and on the town website here. The meeting will be held in the evening in the commons at WIS, 185 Damascus Road. Hernandez and WIS principal Raeanne Reynolds plan to share latest updates on the status of the grade 5 -8 school construction project, including building and traffic areas that will be changed when students return in the fall.

"We're anticipating discussing what areas are being relocated, what activity will occur over the summer, and what to expect when you return in September" said Hernandez. "Part of the school is being renovated or demolished over the summer when they won't be here, and when they return, they'll be building the new academic wing on-site; but it will be isolated from what's happening with instruction."

Hernandez and Reynolds also plan to discuss the updates with elementary school parents during spring meetings at the town's three K-4 schools.

WHAT'S CHANGING

The main academic areas of WIS will not be impacted by the project next year, said Hernandez.

As construction begins this summer to connect a new addition to the east side, the demo work will include alterations to a portion of the front/eastern side section of WIS. Interior reorganization over the summer will relocate the nurse's office, reception area, administrative offices and support staff offices. Outside, bus loop and student drop off traffic will be re-routed.

"Because we'll have a new traffic pattern on the first day of school, we'll have to have a lot of supervision and support from our local police department, which they do anyway; as well as from our own internal resources, in directing children," said Hernandez, adding other changes will include where to sign out students and procedures for picking up students from the nurse or main office.

"You're asking people to change a habit that they've had for years, to now pivot to something new that in itself is a change, let alone when they see part of the building's gone," said Hernandez.

Reynolds said WIS's 800-plus students will continue using main academic instruction areas which have already been adjusted this year in anticipation of the start of construction.

"The big changes already took place," said Reynolds, who leads a staff and faculty of about 150. "We changed some classrooms around and had to do all that movement, and that all happened for this year. So we've already shrunk down, consolidated and relocated."

One instructional area that will be gone next year is the music classroom (the band room will remain in use).

"I think music is going to be the next impacted area, and we've been preparing for that," said Reynolds.

WIS Music Teacher Jesse White joined WIS this year and said he's optimistic about the type of instruction he's planning for students next year.

"We're already thinking how to be proactive and creative with it, how we can teach all our classes with very minimal disruption. We have a piano lab set up in the library, so that under headphones kids are working individually on their own projects at their own pace, and they're having really good success with it," said White. "So it's going to be about what can do that's going to work well in limited spaces, or how can we use it to be flexible; like [studying] music technology -- you can use Chrome Books and you can go anywhere in the school and its quiet."

TEACHERS RESPOND TO NEXT STEPS

On Feb. 14, Hernandez and Reynolds updated WIS faculty and took away concerns, input and questions.

"I think it's important to validate, when they're going through something where not all the answers are provided on their timeline, that could be unsettling to an individual," said Hernandez. "But as a large project, if you think about the major milestones that we've been meeting, and the communication that is occurring, [with regard to] the big picture, teachers feel pretty informed. But when it comes to the nuance of, 'What is happening in my classroom?,' some of that will be dynamic."

WIS Physical Education (PE) teacher John Case, who has been teaching in the building for 31 years, said most teachers are "Type A" by nature and will need to be flexible throughout the process.

"I think the teachers are worried about the unknown, not having gone through this process -- the timing, the physical interruptions that are going to happen to them, and the little things that are going to change," said Case. "Teachers are kind of Type A and like to have organization and know what's coming ahead of time."

Hernandez said he did take away that message from the Feb. 14 meeting.

"To John's point, that's a source of trepidation, but it's also a point of excitement to be able to capitalize on that. But we will have to work more collaboratively than we've ever worked before -- and that's saying a lot, because this a collaborative space," said Hernandez. "As we go through this, there will be touchpoints where we see the conditions that dictate [what] we do. We want to be as communicative as possible not only to the staff, but also to the parents. Every single teacher in this school is going to be thrust into a leadership standpoint of communicating not only to their students, but also to their parents; so there will be that unity and understanding that we're going through something that is exciting; but there are some unknowns. So it's important to be communicative and supportive of each other [and] remind ourselves, 'This is why we're doing this – in 24 months, there will be a new academic wing.'"

DEALING WITH UNKNOWNS

Last fall, WIS underwent an unscheduled preview of how faculty, staff and the district pivoted to meet an unanticipated challenge.

The main gym, locker rooms, pool area and auxiliary gym were closed on August 25, 2017, after air-borne PCB levels higher than recommended for exposure by those aged 6- 12 years were detected during a pre-construction hazardous building material survey of the entire school building, conducted by the district's consulting team, Langan Engineering and Environmental Consulting Services.

During the closings, information and updates were shared in letters to parents via the district's Infinite Campus message system, a public information meeting was held, and details and progress reports were laid out on the district's WIS school project website.  The main gym and locker rooms were re-opened in late September, followed several weeks later by the pool and, in late January, the auxiliary gym.

Hernandez said the WIS PE and Health faculty modified its curriculum to continue student instruction uninterrupted during the closings, with support from the school's administration and staff.

"That's a real credit to the teachers and Raeanne and the staff working together creatively to problem-solve; and modeling for our students how to problem -solve, think outside of the box and be creative; because nothing does stay the same," said Hernandez. "So for our staff to demonstrate that level of flexibility and positive attitude, I think that's a very powerful lesson to our students. And if that's the standard – the way our PE teachers handled the unknowns -- that's a gold standard. They embraced it, they understood it, they asked timely questions for clarification and parameters. Because as as much as I would like to have everything single thing pinned down, the reality is that's not possible."

Case said the biggest impact his program will feel during construction will be reduced use of the school's fields.

"I'm thinking when they use all those fields, where am I going to hold my class? But I'm keeping in mind the thought that there's an end that we're going to be working towards, and it's going to be worth it; and it's okay to flexible when you know it's coming,' said Case. "So if the public and the teachers and the kids know that we're being flexible for a reason, and reaching towards a goal, I think that's all going to work."

ANSWERING QUESTIONS

Hernandez said community members are welcome and encouraged to attend the March meeting and future info sessions. Information and questions can also be addressed through the district's website link to a project page that will be set up and overseen Fusco Corp., the project's construction management company.

To gather some insight on what kind of questions and needs she may be fielding next year, Reynolds said she talked to the principal of North Haven Middle School (NHMS), which completed a two-year renovation and expansion project in January.

"Communication was [a] big thing; you could not communicate enough with the staff, with updates to the parents and the board," said Reynolds. "He said all the things everybody was worried about weren't a concern at all. It was other things, like how much mud comes into the building; or do you have enough shelving for storage. If there was a little [construction] vibration, you were forewarned it was going to be happening. You didn't hear the noise, you didn't see it, you didn't smell things. That part of it was kind of an uneventful process."

As for the project impacting the surrounding area, Hernandez said he is encouraged by the results of another building project underway, to expand and renovate the Community House/Senior Center in the town center.

"I think about what we are currently experiencing with the Community House/Senior Center and the fact that that is happening in a very contained area; much more so than this area, and we've been able to do that as a community, so I think there are some lessons learned from that. But people will have questions [and] we're transparent and we're responsive," said Hernandez. "This isn't Utopia -- things will be disrupted; the unexpected will come up. And to me, it's how we handle that, that will define us."

Hernandez said he will work to keep the lines of communication open throughout the process while focusing on providing the best possible education experience during the 24-month period of construction.

"I anticipate communicating at every stage, and because this is dynamic, that there will perhaps be new information. But our biggest concern is student safety, student accountability and really supporting staff throughout this project, because they are going to be doing their important work," he said.