Groundbreaking Tuesday At Slate Upper School In North Haven

NORTH HAVEN, CT — Local officials from the Town of North Haven will join the Slate School students, family, and community as well as representatives from Patriquin Architects and Gilbane Building Company for the official groundbreaking of the Slate Upper School in North Haven.

The celebration is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:15 a.m.,

"For all of Slate School's students in Grades K-12, education is focused on cultivating creativity, fostering ingenuity, and inspiring a deep passion for lifelong learning," Jennifer Staple-Clark, founder and innovator at Slate School, said in a statement on Friday. "We're thrilled to grow our school so that our students have the opportunity for joyful curiosity-driven, nature-based, interdisciplinary and project-based, and arts-integrated learning throughout their K-12 education."

Slate Upper School's building will be completed and open in Fall 2024 to the first cohort of 7th grade students. As the students progress through the grades, the Upper School will accommodate 90 students in Grades 7-12 with curiosity-driven educational programming. As with the Lower School, Slate Upper School will similarly be one of the most environmentally friendly schools in the country, according to school officials.

"Slate Upper School will join a growing group of thoughtful educators around the country who are committed to redesigning the upper years to nurture curiosity and creativity through project-based, interdisciplinary learning," said Julie Mountcastle, head of school.

Gilbane Building Company built Slate's Lower School in 2018 and is building its Upper School as well. “We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Slate School on this next phase of their campus expansion,” said John Hawley, vice president and business unit leader for Gilbane in Connecticut. “Gilbane is inspired by Slate’s model based in nature conservancy and sustainability, and look forward to deliver this project just as successfully as we did the first.”

The school is inviting parents and educators interested in learning more about Slate Upper School's design and unique non-siloed, interdisciplinary curriculum to attend an information session on May 2 at 9:30 a.m. RSVP to Kelly Campanelli at 203-872-5900.