Allaying Concerns, School Leaders Say DHS Will Be Ready for First Day of School

School leaders said this week that will be ready for students on Sept. 5, even as work continues on the first of three phases to renovate and reconstruct the school.

School Committee Chairman Arthur Skarmeas said his last visit to the school a few weeks ago had him “very stressed” while walking around in the building.

“It didn’t look good,” he said, later adding that it looked like a mess and he did not see anyone working.

Superintendent Lisa Dana and Principal Susan Ambrozavitch both assured Skarmeas that the school will be ready for the arrival of teachers on Sept. 4 and students for the first day of school on Sept. 5.

“Every day we some more progress,” Ambrozavitch said, adding that the completion of finish work will make it feel more complete. “I’m not stressed so you shouldn’t be.”

The millwork outside the office and in the library will be completed this week, said Interim Business Manager Keith Taverna. It is one of the last areas of the schools that looks unfinished as people enter the school, he said. That will make a big difference in the look of the entrance, Ambrozavitch later said.

The academic wing will be complete for the first day of school, she said.

“When people come in they are excited,” Ambrozavitch said.

Dana said that some testing has been done and that more testing needs to be done for , that are sinking into the floor.

“They are getting close to a solution,” Dana said.

The Construction Advisory Committee, which met last week, also offered some engineering advice about the next steps, Dana said.

“They do have a plan going forward,” she said.

But if the fieldhouse can’t be used for the basketball season this fall, school leaders are developing a backup plan plan.

“We are hoping to move forward with a solution this fall,” Dana said.

The athletic corridor will also be ready for the start of the school.

Demolition is complete at the back of the school where the locker rooms were located and the Dunn connector link. A new temporary wall has been put up to separate the part of the school that will be used from the work area.

The Dunn wing, built in the early 1970s, will be torn down in the next two weeks, said Taverna.

“It will be down and completely separated into piles by the timegoes back in the start of the school in September.”

In addition, 95 percent of the technology is installed and complete, Taverna said.

The auditorium is almost done, Taverna said, adding that the stage floor has gone down and the sound system will be installed this week. The curtain was hung last weekend, he said.

In the hallways, treads will go down on stairs this week too, he said. That will complete the hallways and stairways.

"It is really coming along quickly - very exciting," Taverna said.