Glastonbury-East Hartford Magnet School Nears Completion

The boxes are all packed and the carpenters are putting on the finishing touches. The new Glastonbury-East Hartford Elementary Magnet School should be ready for occupancy by the Aug. 15 moving date, said Alan Bookman, Glastonbury Superintendent of Schools.

The first day of school is Aug. 29, and an open house and ribbon cutting at the school is planned for Aug. 28.

Although originally thought that the cafeteria and gym might not be quite finished before the start of the 2012-13 school year, Bookman said everything should be done except the planetarium — a unique and special feature of the science and technology magnet school. The planetarium will probably take another four months to complete, he said.

In addition to the planetarium, the school will have a full-size gym and a soccer field. Though managed by CREC (Capitol Region Education Council), the outside of the building will be maintained by the town of Glastonbury, which will be allowed to use the grounds for town activities and events. Glastonbury Public Schools will also manage and have access to the planetarium.

An effort to move the school into a bigger, better building has been nearly a decade in the making, Bookman said.  

“It’s very close. Everyone has been working very hard to make this happen,” he added.

The state is paying $36.7 million dollars, the majority of the costs for the new school building, which has been taking shape at 95 Oak St., Glastonbury, during the past year, Bookman said. The brand new school is about twice as large as the current building at 305 May Road in East Hartford. That building will be renovated and used by the East Hartford school system once the magnet school moves out, Peterson said.

More space means more room for students. From the 2011-12 enrollment of 260, the student body will grow to 387 next school year, said Principal Glen Peterson. Eventually, the school will house about 435 students, including 160 each from Glastonbury and East Hartford, about 90 students from Hartford, and a smattering of parent-choice candidates from other towns, Bookman said.

Of course, a bigger school and more students also means a bigger budget. The school's budget will increase from $3.29 million to $5.26 million next year. Glastonbury's Board of Education approved the spending plan earlier this week. Though Glastonbury and East Hartford must approve the annual budget for the school, CREC will manage it.

The number of applicants for the new school is extremely high, Bookman said. Students are chosen by lottery.

The new school will have six more classrooms than the current school — three at Pre-K and one each in grades kindergarten, 1 and 2. No new classes have been added in grades 3–5.

The equivalent of about 10 full-time staff positions are also being added, Peterson says. Specials teachers — such as gym, music and art — will change from part-time to full-time positions, and support staff for the additional classes is also being added. Most of the positions have been filled, but Peterson said he is still interviewing for a few.

The staff and students are eager to make the move to the brand-new facility.

“It’s a long time coming. We’re all excited about getting into the new space,” Peterson said.

When he first came to the magnet school in 2003, he was told it would be in a new building by 2005, he said.

He said upwards of 1,200 full packing boxes have been moved into the gymnasium of the old school awaiting the move to the new building on August 15.

“We’ve been in this building for 20 years,” he said. “That means 20 years of stuff to be moved.”

Although much of the equipment and furniture at the new school will be new, some computers and SMART Boards also need to be brought over to the new building. A move manager has been hired to oversee the moving process, Peterson said, to make sure all goes smoothly.

The staff will be able to get into the new building on August 16 to start setting up their classrooms and office spaces.

From now until the start of school, a lot of work still needs to be done, Peterson said. In a normal year, the school takes in about 40 new kindergartners. “This year, we have 160 new students joining us,” he said.

To celebrate the opening of the brand new school building, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on the day before school starts, Aug. 28, at 8:30 a.m. The ceremony is for students and their families, not for the general public. Another dedication ceremony will take place later in the year when the planetarium is finished, Bookman said.