$7.5M In State Funds Approved For Hamden Middle School Project

HAMDEN, CT — The town will receive nearly $7.5 million in state funds for the expansion and renovation of Hamden Middle School, according to officials.

State legislators approved a school construction package that includes nearly $7.5 million in available funds for the expansion and renovation of the Hamden Middle School, State Rep. Michael D'Agostino (D-Hamden) announced this week. The larger middle school will accommodate grades six through eight.

The proposed project would renovate and expand Hamden's only middle school, built in 2006, to consolidate all sixth graders from the town's eight elementary schools with seventh and eighth graders.

"This is a school project with educational and social value," D'Agostino said. “The proposed consolidation brings students into a more diverse racial and social environment, which is long overdue and appropriate in today's world."

The effort is expected to improve academic offerings in the lab sciences and world languages; address issues of declining enrollment; and result in more efficient uses district resources, according to officials.

“As a middle school educator for many years, I have seen the value of students attending a school that includes grades 6-8, rather than the 7-8 model under which we currently operate," Hamden Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler said. "Such a configuration provides opportunities for children to learn from subject-matter specialists in small, interdisciplinary teams, while providing young adolescents and their parents the opportunity to build a stronger school community over the three years."

The new two-story sixth-grade classroom wing is planned to accommodate approximately 441 students. Other aspects of the plan include an expanded cafeteria, a larger media center and a new auxiliary gymnasium. The additional 24,600 square feet will be equipped with energy efficient heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems.

“The expansion of the Hamden Middle School will improve academic outcomes by providing sixth graders the opportunity to start benefiting one year earlier from a secondary/subject-based learning experience and include foreign language, engineering and other exploratory learning areas," Hamden Board of Education Chairman Arturo Perez-Cabello said. “In addition, this expansion will open up space for Pre-K programming at all the elementary school buildings, increasing the levels of readiness, yielding positive outcomes for the years to come."