New London ― Students returned to class Tuesday to see ongoing renovations at the high and middle schools, new playgrounds and an increased effort to involve parents.

The district’s nearly $160 million two-campus project pushes on as construction at the high school and middle school continues. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.

The state is reimbursing the city for 80% of the cost of most parts of the project.

Kate McCoy, assistant superintendent of magnet pathways and district operations, said one-half of Bennie Dover Middle School’s academic area is complete. The area of the former Chapman Technical High School, the oldest section of the campus and built in the 1930s, awaits demolition, McCoy said.

She said it will be the site of a new entrance, grand staircase, art room and band area. Work on that area is scheduled to start in the spring.

Bennie Dover will eventually house middle school students in two of the district’s three magnet programs: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The school is in the process of its IB candidacy.

The high school project will house STEM and IB programs for high school students and, because of the larger size, will accommodate both middle and high school students in the arts magnet program.

McCoy said work will begin shortly on the high school’s academic tower. She said students are entering the school year with new art spaces and a sports medicine room. That area will also have several new classrooms.

If everything goes according to schedule, the district will open the new high school auditorium in January.

Engagement and empowerment

Superintendent of Schools Cynthia Ritchie said the district has many themes it is working on, one of them being engagement and empowerment.

Part of that has been through its work at Birth to Age 8 Early Childhood Resource Center on Shaw Street, having purchased the building with the city using grant funds. The center host events throughout the year to engage families and teach hands-on learning.

“We’re using parents as partners and connecting them to resources throughout the community,” Ritchie said.

Earlier this year, the district hired a bilingual family engagement coordinator, Jersahid Valencia. One program Valencia oversees to get parents involved in the schools started last winter using funds through the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund program, or ESSER.

New playgrounds, outside classrooms and Lego room

Ritchie said the district is rebuilding handicap accessible playgrounds at three elementary schools‒ Nathan Hale, Winthrop and C.B. Jennings‒ using ESSER funds. Installation at Nathan Hale is expected to start this month.

She added the district has drafted plans for outside classrooms at every school. Ritchie said she is hopeful to get approval for the classrooms from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

In partnership with Lego, Winthrop STEM Elementary School will have a room where students can learn engineering skills using Lego building blocks.

Assistant Principal of Winthrop Leah Champ Burdick said the school has always used Legos as part of teaching enrichment and engineering. She said school received a stipend from Lego after it participated in the company’s online Education Professional Development series.

Magnet and ESSER relief funds also went into making the room colorful and Lego-immersive.

“The whole room will be for creativity, Lego-building and the engineering process,” Burdick said.

j.vazquez@theday.com

Editor’s note: this version has been updated to reflect one-half of the middle school’s academic area is complete and the art spaces and sports medicine room at the high school are complete.