On April 28, a grand opening ceremony, recognizing the efforts and support of many, was held at Branford's completed Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) and capped by an open house which offered community members a chance to view the town's landmark educational facility at 185 Damascus Road.

"It's amazing," said Francis "Fran" Walsh, the school's namesake, former principal and past Branford selectman.

Walsh toured the facility on April 28 with his wife, Martha; taking in sights including the newly refurbished gym and pool area which he said were hard to believe were the same as those which had been part of the original school building, which opened in 1974. Walsh said he had visited the new academic wing about two years ago, when it first was opened for students in early 2020.

"It's all completely different, and it should be," said Walsh, noting it took three referendums to bring in the original intermediate school building nearly 50 years ago. "We got our money's worth out of the other building, but it wasn't as deluxe as this."

Among those who took up the invitation to stop in for tours of the building on April 28 were many Branford families with young children, including several with kids who will be entering WIS in the next year or two.

Resident Jesse Parente and his family, including his son, Jesse Jr., currently in third grade, came to check out the building for the first time. Parente's son, Jesse Jr., a second-generation Branford elementary student (both he and his dad are Tisko kids), said he was really excited about the school's pool. Parente said he was impressed with all of the building's learning spaces.

"What a cool transition, to come from Tisko to here," said Parente. "I just think they're going to have a blast."

Thanks to Many

While Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez was unable to be on-hand as he had planned, WIS principal Raeanne Reynolds said would do her best to represent him on April 28, saying she echoed the words of Hernandez from the beginning of the new school year, which were, "I love it, and I'm thrilled."

"I'm so happy to have been part of this process. And we are absolutely thrilled with our new intermediate school, and we welcome you to Walsh," said Reynolds.

Noting a portrait of Fran Walsh is prominently displayed outside of the auditorium, Reynolds told Walsh on April 28 that "this new building now fosters" his philosophy of "community and collaboration and learning" as the "essence" of the school.

"So, your dream is still alive, and it is going forward;" said Reynolds to Walsh.

In his remarks given April 28, First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove noted that many of those who had joined Reynolds, Walsh, Hernandez and himself at the project's groundbreaking in 2018 were back to celebrate on April 28, including Branford Public Building Commission (PBC) chair Peter Banca and many school and community leaders in attendance in the audience; together with others who came on board during the years of the process, including Board of Education (BOE) chair Peter Berdon.

Berdon said he "stood on the shoulders" of the board chairs before him who were involved in this project. He thanked past BOE chairs Frank Carrano, Michael Kraus, Shannen Sharkey and John Prins; as well as all BOE members serving during the effort, for their work.

Done in two phases, the project first completed the three-story academic wing (December, 2019) for students, before work began to amend and renovate a section of the original building to include a new auditorium, music rooms and vibrantly refreshed gymnasium/locker room area and pool. Branford Parks and Recreation oversees WIS community pool use; scheduling appears at the Parks and Recreation website.

A Financially Feasible Project

The WIS project was fully funded by the Town with bonding of $88.2 million approved by the Board of Finance (BOF) and Representative Town Meeting (RTM). Following receipt of state reimbursement for the project, Branford will be paying back approximately $58.5 million in bonding, said Cosgrove. Cosgrove especially credited the expertise of Branford's long-serving Finance Director Jim Finch for his work and guidance in making the project "financially feasible."

Cosgrove also noted bringing about this WIS project was a priority of his first term in office as Branford's first selectman in 2013. The need to find a fix for the former WIS had been identified for several years prior to 2013, due to the original building's outmoded and, in this day and age, unsafe "open classroom" layout.

Cosgrove said he met with Hernandez to lend support and to help the district and BOE avoid the fate of prior WIS project development attempts, which had failed.

"I remember Mr. Hernandez stated at the time that we had to come forward with a project that was financially feasible and politically do-able," said Cosgrove. "That was necessary in order to keep the support [and] move it forward."

Cosgrove said providing strong advocacy for the project helped to garner community-wide support for a new WIS facility that would create an "...environment for staff and students that was conducive to teaching and learning, as well as meet the needs of the community."

"And I think we've accomplished that, and it's something we should be quite proud of," said Cosgrove.

While the building serves Branford's grade 5 – 8 public school students, it's also beneficial to the greater community, with spaces including the new auditorium and renovated pool for the enjoyment of the public at large, he noted.

Cosgrove also said there were many to thank over the years of the project. The list includes the parents who championed the effort; the many appointed, elected and volunteer members of government bodies including the BOF, RTM and BOE; the work of Finch; Branford's state delegation comprised of former State Sen. Edward Kennedy, former Rep. Lonnie Reed and current Rep. Sean Scanlon: the project's design/construction team; the students, teachers and staff who occupied the building during construction phases; the community at large; and a "big thank you" to the members of the PBC, led by Banca.

"These are the individuals who have served in a volunteer capacity for several years, committed to this project," said Cosgrove of the PBC. "When decisions needed to be made in timely fashion, they were there to meet. There were many long nights, as well as times that required them to take time out of their work day [to] meet and make decisions. Those volunteers that served throughout the years to see the project through completion, I thank them."

On behalf of the BOE, Berdon thanked the WIS staff and students, past and present, for being flexible with the daily work of the construction projects, which, while designed to mitigate impacts on student learning and staff, still certainly caused "some interruptions" along the way. He also acknowledged and thanked the area's residents for "being great neighbors" during the construction. Berdon also thanked the BOF, RTM, Branford Planning and Zoning, Engineering and office of the Fire Marshal for its assistance. He also lauded Finch for providing the project's financial expertise.

With regard to the new WIS facility, Berdon said, "Having a good educational space is really important for education. Having an environment where students can learn, where it's a safe environment, where they have the resources...adds to the educational experience for these kids. So, this is an investment, as Jamie had mentioned, that will be for our town; that will endure for many, many years."

Banca thanked the members of the PBC for the time they invested in working to bring the new building to the community.

"Each and every one brought something different to the table. Every one of the nine members of that commission worked very hard and should be recognized," said Banca, adding that his reason for doing the work has a name – Peyton.

"The reason will transpire in about three and half years, when our daughter enters the school," said Banca. "Peyton, I hope you enjoy this beautiful building. And frankly, I want to thank my wife, Kathy, and Peyton for all the patience and love you showed me during the past 5 years."

Banca also thanked Cosgrove for his work.

"Jamie Cosgrove picked the right moment in time to start this project. If this had been done one year later, we never would have gotten the prices that we did on the building, the interest rate on the bonds, or the reimbursement from the state that we did," said Banca. "So as a taxpayer of Branford, thank you."

Touring WIS

With WIS students to guide them, guests were allowed to roam the entire school building on April 28 during the two-hour open house from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Every floor of the new academic wing incorporates design and color touches reflecting one of three themes: sea (first floor), land (second floor), and sky (third floor). The state-of-the-art building conforms to all safety requirements and is filled with high-tech educational components from Internet accessibility to on-site learning backed by Promethium monitor boards, mounted in front of a wall teachers and students can write on and erase, in every classroom.

Several spaces, such as the art rooms, connect between classrooms, with the most significant connection on the top floor where a wall between a traditional science lab classroom can be raised to incorporate the math classroom behind it, to help advance learning practices including STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning. The second floor has two science lab learning spaces.

The exterior of the academic building also marries the traditional brick of the former WIS building with a white, marble-look façade of phenolic panels, a durable man-made component.

The academic wing also features a stunning, two-story window wall seen from the exterior of the new wing's eastern side, providing natural light for WIS's media center. The media space isn't in the center of the school, as it was in the old WIS, but it still serves to gather students together in what is the "hub" of the building, said Reynolds.

Located at the heart of the building is the school's interior grand staircase. Done in tile wood tones with modern steel railings and lantern posts set at points alongside the main railing (a brick wall set with display cases stretches up the other side of the stairs), the grand staircase is another way to take students to academic spaces between the first floor (which includes art classrooms), second floor (administrative and classrooms for grades 5 and 6), and third floor (administrative and classrooms for grades 7 and 8).

"It absolutely works," said Reynolds of the grand staircase. "We have over 850 children to transport up and down stairs all day. We need that space; and we're realizing the flow and traffic of how things operate – and [how] every door and every window has been thoughtfully planned out and in the best interest of the children."

To one side of the grand staircase on the first floor is the entrance to the full-service WIS cafeteria, with windows that overlook the rear campus including the school's main parking area and bus drop off zone. The tile leading into the cafeteria blends blues of the water and browns of beach sand, while its wall mural depicts a stylized rendering of Branford's famed Thimble Islands.

The grand staircase faces the lobby entrance to the school and its brand-new, state-of-the art auditorium on the first floor. The lobby joins the new academic wing with the spaces of the renovated building including the gym, pool and band, orchestra and chorus music rooms.

"The students have made a tremendous transition," says Reynolds of this year's first group of 5 – 8 grade students to have full use of both the academic wing and the newly renovated former building.

"It went very smoothly, and they're in their new environments," said Reynolds. "And we're learning, each and every day, how much this amazing space has to offer."