Rocky Hill School Administrators Prepare for Construction During Academic Year

Voters have , and the school board  for the elementary schools to the Town Council, which is expected to approve the work.

Now how do school officials and teachers balance academic instruction with the likelihood of some type of construction during the school year? First, they will need patience.

"We all have to be really flexible. There will be some areas in the buildings that are off-limits,” Superintendent of Schools Mark Zito said recently.

 Principal John Colonghi said one of his concerns is about the potential problems with space, as it’s pretty tight with “no spare room to house students while construction is going on.”

Over at the , Principal  said that the fire code provision that limits the coverage of classroom walls is one that will interfere most with his teachers' duties.

"We're an elementary school. We use a lot of visuals,” Nozik said.

Currently, West Hill and Stevens teachers may use 20 percent of their wall-space. That maximum will be increased to 50 percent once overhead sprinkler systems are installed. The absence of elementary school sprinklers was the major infraction cited in the fire marshal's report, which requires that the schools be brought into compliance with the state fire code.

Principal Mario Almeida said that much of the construction will happen in summer and times during the school year when classes are not in session. As for those times when there will be overlap, Almeida echoes Zito's appeal for flexibility.

"Teachers will need to that understand that they won't always be teaching in their own classroom. We may have to hold classes in locations like the cafeteria, the auditorium, and the gym, and we may have to use some modular classrooms," Zito said

Yet, the inconveniences will eventually be worthwhile, he said.

"When the work on the schools is completed, we anticipate great products in which the entire community can take pride," Zito said.       

Enjoy reading Patch? Show us some love! Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.