Schools
GMS Project Goal: State of the Art School Now, and 50 Years From Now
School district faculty members and Wakefield residents have been gathering to discuss what they want in a new school building.
Although still in the early stages of planning, excitement is growing for the , which is moving forward quickly.
Two visioning sessions were held in August, where Galvin Middle School staff and community members met to share ideas for the new facility.
A school for now - and the future
Superintendent Joan Landers said that the focus of the two visioning sessions was to discuss how the new facility will stand the test of time and accommodate 21st century learning styles.
“We talked about what we wanted not only for education now, but 50 years from now,” she said. “We have to ensure that we build a building that will be able to transform as there are changes made over the next fifty years “
“The focus is on ensuring that we have an educational facility that allows our students to have a 21st century education and to look at creative options for our students,” Landers added.
According to Landers, numerous plans for a new building were recently presented to the the Galvin School Building Advisory Committee, and the committee narrowed their choices down to three preferred options.
School Committee Chairperson Lisa Butler said that she was pleased to see the plans.
“It’s pretty exciting to see actual plans and some of the ideas they have for it,” Butler said. “I think the public will be very pleased.”
What's happened so far
The first visioning session was specifically for members of the Galvin administration. Those individuals presented information about the project to an additional group during the second visionary session.
Landers said that attendees of the first visioning session presented some information they had gathered about the preferred options to a new group that included community members, members of the school committee, residents, and PTO members.
“It was unbelievable,” she said. “It was a very, very exciting process and I thank the community members that were able to join us.”
Coming Up
Landers said that her next step will be to submit educational plans to the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Sept. 23.
The first of three planned public forums will be held at the Galvin Middle School at 7:30pm on Monday, September 19, 2011. All are invited to attend, and to provide input or to ask questions about the project.
