In down-at-the-heels Meriden, there's hope that a $220 million school construction project will help lift the whole town

Down-at-the-heels Meriden is working to recapture some of its former prosperity, with two brand new high schools, remodeled greenery downtown, and a new train station. And there’s hope that the $220 million school construction project will help lift the whole town.

The new schools should encourage greater use of community resources, and tighten the urban community, said Mark Benigni, the Meriden schools superintendent, and a 1989 graduate of Orville H. Platt High, one of the city’s two high schools.

Platt, and the city’s other public high school, Francis T. Maloney, had only been renovated once before, after their construction in 1956.

Now both schools are simply outdated. After an addition of 86,000 sq. ft. that included 18 new classrooms, more gym space, and a 40-year-old pool, no other major renovation projects were carried out over the years.

When the architect Willard Wilkins designed both schools, they were considered works of art.

Platt was featured in the Wall Street Journal, and admired as “a fine new building.” Now it is gawked at for being outdated and dingy.

Jessica Deegan, a 2013 Maloney graduate, recalled being embarrassed about the poor condition of her school.

“I was on the soccer team and the track team, and I actually felt ashamed when we would have home games and home meets, and the other schools had to come to Meriden and play on our fields, use our locker rooms and our bathrooms and to see our school for what it really was,” she said. “I felt as though my town looked like it was unsuccessful.”

Teachers and staff say the lack of modern teaching amenities were interfering with teaching and learning. That’s why Meriden Board of Education and the City Council started to discuss the need for renovations.

That was back in 2002. In 2008, a plan to refurbish some of the old buildings and add a new one was adopted, but later dropped. Implementations of smart technology, such as Smart Boards, were introduced to both buildings in 2009. Teachers said they noticed a difference in learning, and that the new technology encouraged more student classroom participation.

Another plan was drafted, and then the complete renovation of both high school buildings began in 2012. A $111.8 million project was approved for Platt, and a $107.5 million project for Maloney. The city gave preference to local union contractors to do the work.

“The renovations at Platt and Maloney High Schools in Meriden will make modern teaching tools available to all students, and ensure that the entire building is handicapped accessible,” said State Sen. Dante Bartolomeo, a Meriden Democrat.

“The high school renovations will provide our students with a modern first class student centered learning environment,” Benigni said. “Our community will gain a terrific resource that will offer opportunities for community engagement and numerous city wide events.”

Now, he said, the high school educational system requires the development and implementation of a 21st century curriculum.

Bartolomeo agreed that it had been high time to renovate: Both schools were built over 50 years ago, had physical and electrical infrastructure issues, and were not ADA compliant, she pointed out. The renovated schools will expand access to computers and the Internet, while maintaining useable features like the pool and auditorium. “Investing in our children’s education yields the best returns for our community and our state,” she said. She said the improvement of the school would improve the environment of the student body, education, and the city.

“When I was in high school and in the drama club, we definitely needed a larger audience, and more equipment to accomplish our goals when we were putting plays on,” recalled James Rolstone, a 2013 Platt graduate.

Several Platt students said they enjoy the plays and appreciate the work that goes into preparing for them, but that the microphones shut off half way through the performance or cut in and out the entire show, which made them hard to watch.

Both teachers and students hope that the renovation will improve school spirit. “This construction will raise the spirit of the students and the parents, which will most likely result in more school events for everyone to enjoy and want to attend,” Rolstone said.

Catherine Ragozzino, an English teacher at Platt who also helps out with the drama club, said that “buildings as old as these needed to get redone; in the end this will better our education and generations to come.”

With more community functions being held in the high schools, Deegan believes it will bring more traffic to the town and will refurbish Meriden’s reputation, to raise it closer to the level of its very successful surrounding towns.

“ I think that this will probably bring in more traffic to the city, this will up Meriden’s status, especially when being compared to the more successful surrounding cities and towns,” Deegan said. He noted that wealthier nearby towns, such as Cheshire and Wallingford, had had more opportunities to improve their schools.

Benigni hopes that after the completion of both renovations in 2017, these will be not that not only two new school buildings, but also two new community resources.

Image via Meriden BOE