State Street Scoop
Issue 18 - January 26th
Principal's Corner
Dear Families,
Please enjoy these actors and actresses from fourth grade as they show you what is looks and sounds like to be in the "Yellow Zone." Please click on the video below.
Audrey Faubert
Principal
Zones of Regulation Information
Parent Liaison Information
State Street School Construction Remains On Target For July Start
By Ryan Blessing, Sun Staff Writer
WESTERLY — Construction of a new State Street Elementary School could begin as soon as July, according to the project manager overseeing the work.
It’s part of the $50 million in educational facilities upgrades Westerly voters approved in 2022, including a $29.35 million budget for construction of the new State Street School, $8.85 million for renovations at Springbrook Elementary School and $11.8 million for renovations at Dunn’s Corners Elementary School.
TSKP Studio, the architectural firm working on the project, was before the town’s Planning Board Jan. 16 for a pre-application review. Julia McFadden, project manager, asked the board to combine both master and preliminary plan approval, as recommended by Town Planner Nancy Letendre. It was also the first time the board has gotten a look at particulars of the project.
“We’ve been working with the school system to design a new school on the State Street site,” McFadden said. “The existing school will remain in operation while the new school is built just north of the existing school.”
That places the new building farther back from State Street, closer to a wooded wetland area.
Students will continue to attend classes in the existing building while the new partial two-story structure is constructed, McFadden said.
The construction will be done in phases, with the existing school built in 1955 being demolished once the new one is completed. The area of the current building will then be developed for parking and for a separate bus loop drive, as well as playground areas, McFadden said.
“There will definitely need to be some planning and coordination with the school during the construction,” she said. “The good thing is that the drop-off and bus activities occur now at the front of the school, and so that will be able to continue. The back of the site right now is some playground area, so they will lose some of the playground during construction time.”
McFadden also noted that neighboring abutters and the senior center will notice additional construction vehicles and some accompanying noise during the project.
“Those will be timed to fall within hours that aren’t disruptive,” she said. “They won’t be allowed to start early in the morning or go late into the evening.”
A meeting with neighbors will be scheduled to inform them of the status of work when the start date gets closer, she added.
“The senior center is actually part of the site, but we anticipate being able to keep activities really separate from the senior center during the course of construction,” she said.
TSKP anticipates receiving approval from the Rhode Island Department of Education in June, and then starting some construction as early as late July or August. Construction of the new building would last about 16 months, until November 2025.
A date for students to vacate the existing building and move into the new one isn’t yet known, McFadden said.
“Spring or summer of 2026, once they move into the new school, then those other site activities for demolition and re-configuring can occur,” she said.
The new school will have at least a 50-foot buffer to the delineated wetlands at the north end of the site, with no direct wetland disturbance. Two rain gardens at the front of the school and a storm water basin northwest of the building are proposed to manage storm water. The plans, with all storm water engineering calculations, will be submitted to the state Department of Environmental Management by Jan. 26.
“We looked at a lot of configurations for the site,” McFadden said. “We had tried but really couldn’t make it fit all on one story. That’s when we went to the partial second story.”
Third- and fourth-graders would occupy the second story, while kindergarten would be in the back wing of the first story, with first and second-graders in the front.
“It kind of helps to organize the school in a nice way,” McFadden said.
With the combining of master and preliminary plan, and its eventual certification of completeness, a public hearing will be scheduled.
Another architecture firm, DBVW Architects, is handling the renovation projects at Springbrook and Dunn’s Corners schools. The School Building Subcommittee will host an open forum at 6 p.m. on Jan. 31 at Town Hall to discuss the scope of renovations for those two schools, plus expected timelines, Superintendent of Schools Mark Garceau said.
State Street School Calendar - January 24
Westerly Public Schools Calendar 2024
Background Check Paperwork 2024
3rd and 4th Grade BOKS Kids of the Week
Crab Crawling
Our "Sharks" for Sharks and Minnows Game
Family Engagement News
HI Parents. I am so happy that some of you are borrowing books from our lending library for yourselves and for your children. It's very easy to borrow. Just give me a call 401-348-2340 Ext 5131 or email me at mkpatten@westerly.k12.ri.us and I will send them home in an envelope with your child or you can pick them up. Whatever is easier for you:)