Parker School Classroom Addition—Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why do we need more classrooms?

While the current building offers enormous improvements over our original site, we knew from the start that trying to squeeze a 370 student middle/high school into an old elementary school building would leave us short of space. Offices were turned to classrooms, storage closets into offices, and storage moved to the hallways or teachers’ cars and homes. Hallway floors and the parking lot are often used as classroom space. Some rooms are triple booked—holding at the same time a regular class, a second class using the computers, and teachers working at their desks during their planning time.

 

2. Can you describe exactly what we’re buying?

The Wachusett Regional School District is selling Parker a classroom addition containing 14 classrooms. The modular construction of the unit enables it to be disassembled at Wachusett, transported to Parker, and reassembled here. We’ve found that many people assume that modular construction is just another word for trailers—it’s not! As the photos on the home page show, this addition is a substantial two-story building that feels just like a traditionally constructed school building when you walk through it. The building is just a few years old and has some large science labs. It is handicapped accessible and energy efficient. The quality of the classroom space is superior to that in our current building. In fact, we recently learned that his classroom unit won an international award in 2003 for best modular classroom structure.

 

3. Does this mean we will be increasing the size of Parker’s student body?

No. The size of Parker school is capped at 400 students both by our charter and by our educational philosophy. The classrooms are needed to provide enough room for our current number of students.

 

4. How much is this costing us?

Our preliminary cost estimates call for a total budget of about $2 million. At current construction costs for Massachusetts public buildings, we would have had to pay more than $8 million to build this classroom addition new.

 

5. Were other alternatives explored?

The school has been looking at ways to add classroom space since 2000--the year we moved here. A faculty committee first looked into the possibility of buying trailers, and in recent years the Board of Trustees has explored the options of building an addition, buying and renovating another building, building a new school, and building a new school as part of a shared campus with another school. Having weighed the pros and cons of these other options, we knew a terrific opportunity when we saw one.

 

6. When will the classrooms be ready?

Our current schedule calls for the classroom addition to be ready by December, 2007, although it’s worth noting that construction is an inexact science and schedules sometimes slip for reasons beyond a school’s control. The building of the foundation and trenching or utilities is slated to begin at Parker once the students have left for summer vacation.

 

7. Where will the new classroom wing go?

The addition will extend behind our building from the end of and  perpendicular to what is currently (but what will not remain) the Div. I hallway. This plan was chosen because it leaves the largest amount of open space on the existing lot.

 

8. What classes will go in the new space?

Teri and a faculty committee worked through the winter and spring with school building architect Jeff Davis of Tappe Associates to determine the space use that best fits Parker’s needs. The group began by determining the guiding educational principles by which to assess its work, and rethought all space use at Parker. A draft plan was presented to the full faculty, and the final plan includes the following:

• A grouping of Spanish classrooms in what is currently the Div I wing;
• The incorporation of the Sizer Teachers Center back into the school in one of the classrooms in the addition;
• A classroom for each advisory;
• In the addition, a computer lab and large arts room to be used by the entire student body;
• A distinct Div I area in the existing building in the large classrooms along the Antietam Street side of the school; and
• Div II classrooms in the addition, and Div III classrooms in both the addition and existing building.

 

9. How does this fit into the goal of obtaining a permanent home for the school?

Since its founding, Parker has rented space  through a series of five-year leases with our landlord, MassDevelopment. For the past few years, the Trustees have been working diligently on obtaining a permanent home for the school. The classroom addition makes it possible for our current site to become our permanent home; the control of the site—either through purchase or a long term lease—is necessary to secure our investment in the addition. We are currently in the final phases of negotiation with MassDevelopment for the purchase of the site, and have no indication that this purchase will not occur in the timeframe necessary to accomplish our goals.

 

10. What about the gym?

Obtaining a high-school sized gym remains a pressing need for both our Wellness program and our basketball teams. The costs of a new gym are substantial, however—the Shirley Middle School gym would cost roughly $5 million to build today. The Board of Trustees has made improved gym space one of its priorities and the Building Committee, once it completes the classroom addition, will seek to find a creative and affordable solution to the need for gym space.