ROCKY HILL - As students in Rocky Hill headed back to school Wednesday, they probably noticed that not only did their schools undergo their usual routine summer scrub-down, but a number of facility improvements had been made over the break, as well.

       Stevens and West Hill elementary schools perhaps underwent the most notable changes, with the installation of a brand new gym floor at Stevens and West Hill’s gym floor being refinished. New bleachers have also been ordered for West Hill’s gym.

       Gym floors at Rocky Hill High School and Griswold Middle School are set to be resealed. The renovation project at Rocky Hill High School will be ongoing.

       Curriculum-wise, teachers and administrators will continue to work to align coursework at Rocky Hill schools with the Common Core State Standards, aimed to prepare students for success in college and career.

       Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Zito shared in a letter welcoming students back that â€�"Rocky Hill High School noted the most significant gains we have seen in years on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT)--exceeding the performance in 2012 by a significant margin (12-15 percent with respect to the percentage of students reaching goal).”

       Stevens and West Hill elementary Schools and Griswold Middle School also showed improved scores from last year on the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT).

       Zito also announced in his letter that security firm Secure Watch 24 (SW24) will begin â€�"observing daily operations” in the schools â€�"in order to assist them in formulating their final recommendations.

       Earlier this year, the Town Council authorized a contract with the firm to work with Zito, the town manager, police chief, fire chief and director of facilities to develop a comprehensive school security reform plan for the district. SW24 is expected to address access control, visitor management, emergency response protocol and fire and police officials’ safety plans as part of its recommendation for hardware and protocol changes in the form of a five-year implementation plan.

       The $32,000 contract with SW24 is part of a $350,000 line item included in the 2013-14 fiscal year budget set aside as a school security fund.