Repairs Continue To Cos Cob School In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — Repairs to Cos Cob School are progressing on schedule following the water leak that heavily damaged portions of its interior, and is expected to reopen to after the Christmas break, according to Greenwich Public Schools officials.

"The Cos Cob School reconstruction project remains on schedule for completion in time to return grades K-2 classrooms to the school over the Holiday Recess, and for students to return to their classrooms following the break," officials stated Wednesday. "Sheetrock installation has been completed on the 2nd floor; and 1st floor sheetrock installation and 2nd floor classroom painting has begun. Crews will be working on Friday and Saturday this week.

"Regular air quality testing continues to be within acceptable standards."

The damage to the school was caused by a water leak from a broken plumbing fixture, and it has been closed since Oct. 8. Students and staff have been relocated to other Greenwich public schools since Oct. 15.

From the school district:

Background:
On or about Saturday, October 6, a plumbing fixture broke in the second floor art room at Cos Cob
School causing a water leak. The leak was discovered Sunday evening, October 7, when falling
ceiling tiles set off motion detectors alerting the Greenwich Police Department. School was closed for the week of October 8-12, while a relocation plan was developed and clean-up began.

Old Greenwich School (OGS) absorbed four sections of Grade 1, and three sections of Grade 2 into
five classrooms. Cos Cob School’s Grade 1 classrooms, with 15-16 students in each section, were
combined into two classrooms with two teachers per classroom, maintaining the teacher to student ratio in a co-teaching model. In order to provide five classrooms for CCS for the short-term, OGS displaced band, Spanish, Science lab, Computer lab and English Language Learning classes.

As the only school in the District with enough space on the ground floor to absorb the full CCS
Kindergarten, Parkway School is hosting CCS’s four Kindergarten classes. By State Statute,
Kindergarten and first grade classrooms must be located on the ground floor of the building. In order to provide classroom space for CCS, Parkway displaced instrumental band, English Language Learning, Science, Spanish, and Advanced Learning Program classes that shared three of the classrooms. Parkway also gave up their Maker Space in the Media Center to use for the fourth CCS classroom.

While not optimal, as a short-term solution, instruction for the displaced classes at Parkway and Old Greenwich Schools is currently being delivered as a push-in model, and/or finding space in conference rooms, classrooms and other areas while not in use during the day’s schedule.

Extent of damage:
First floor: main office suite, conference room, nurses suite and 7 classrooms/program spaces

Second floor: 3 classrooms, Science lab, media center, computer lab and art room

Damage is primarily limited to millwork/cabinetry, ceilings (tile and drywall), walls (opened up for air to mitigate potential mold growth) and flooring (carpet tile and Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT).

Photo of Cos Cob School via Google Maps

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