Officials Look at Silas Deane Building for Transition Academy
WETHERSFIELD - A former senior/adult center on the Silas Deane Highway is the frontrunner in the district’s search for a new location for the transition academy, town councilors and Superintendent of Schools Michael Emmett have reported.

       The building’s lower level is equipped with handicapped restrooms, a conference room and enough space to meet other program needs, according to Councilor Tony Martino, who provided an update at a Council budget workshop a couple of weeks ago.

       Students and parents have already been given a tour of the building, but nothing has been made official yet, Martino said.

       â€"The families are very happy with what they saw,” Martino said. â€"The kids were very happy as well.”

       Emmett confirmed the update last week, expressing similar thoughts.

       â€"There’s a lot of potential,” he said. â€"The fact that it’s in the Wethersfield community is great, and there’s additional space so we can continue to expand our programs.”

       The district may even be able to get the second floor, which would most likely be turned into office space for teachers, according to Martino.

       Emmett will have to wait to see how much rehabilitation work the district will have to do, but the fact that the owner is already doing some interior work, including painting, should help, Martino said.

       â€"It doesn’t sound like there’s going to be that much for us to do in there,” he said. â€"He’s doing improvements to it already.”

       The district would like to eventually add an elevator, but having a conference room downstairs for parent and student/teacher meetings should make doing that less urgent, Martino said.

       If the district decides to go through with that location, the Town Planning and Zoning Commission will have to be consulted, Emmett said.

       â€"It’s office space, so we have to make sure the space is appropriate,” he said.

       The Academy has been operating out of the Pitkin Community Center, but increased enrollment-both current and projected-prompted Emmett to look for a different building to house it in.

       The Transition Academy currently has 10 students--the maximum the current space can serve--and was projected to maintain that enrollment through this past fall. But Director of Special Services Emily Daigle said over the summer that the district expects nine more students next year.

       Taking more students than the Academy’s current spot can fit would require the district to seek outplacement to the tune of tuition cost estimates that range between $500,000 and $1 million, according to Daigle.

       By relocating, the district can instead provide seats for students from other towns and bring in tuition money, Emmett said when the issue first came up.

       That was when the district moved to house the Academy at the 898 Silas Deane Highway property. The 7,500 square foot lower level space the district wanted to lease would have been able to hold up to 25 students.

       But concern from parents prompted the district to take a step back. They pointed to the fact that the building serves as a commercial shipping/receiving area and that the area is a cut-through point for Route 3 traffic moving toward the Silas Deane Highway, which they said can make navigating the site’s parking lot dangerous for students.

       So Emmett and Academy parents have been back at the drawing board since. He says that he has been meeting with parents to discuss the matter, with the hopes of having a new location ready by the fall.
MORE WETHERSFIELD NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  Feb 15 2016  |  COMMENTS?