'It feels like home': A Westport middle school reopens after $32 million renovation

Kris Szabo, the principal of Coleytown Middle School, renovated the school on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 on the Open House in Westport, Connecticut.

The newly renovated Coleytown Middle School will open on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at the Open House in Westport, Connecticut.

Coleytown Middle School Principal Kris Szabo, Principal Tom Scarice and Buulding Committee Chairman Don O'Day opened the newly renovated school in Westport, Connecticut on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

Maddie Demanch, a science teacher at Coleytown Middle School, will teach the newly renovated school on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 on the open day in Westport, Connecticut.

On Tuesday, January 5, 2021, the newly renovated Coleytown Middle School gymnasium at the Open House in Westport, Connecticut.

Sharon Gardener, a French teacher at Coleytown Middle School, will teach in this newly renovated school on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 on the Open House in Westport, Connecticut.

Coleytown Middle School Principal Kris Szabo and Building Committee Chairman Don O'Day will be held at the newly renovated school on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at the Open House in Westport, Connecticut.

Open day on January 5, 2021 (Tuesday), the newly renovated cafeteria at Coleytown Middle School in Westport, Connecticut.

Westport-Jennifer Tedesco-Alfano (Jennifer Tedesco-Alfano) has seen Coleytown Middle School go through many changes over the years—as a student and teacher.

On Tuesday, she and her colleagues welcomed the students back to the first day of the fully refurbished CMS. The building was closed in 2018 due to mold issues, but

Make it better than before.

Sixth grade language art teacher Tedesco-Alfano said: "This is the 26 years I have been teaching here, so I have gone through a lot of changes." "It's really amazing, and the changes are great. It's great to be home."

Tedesco-Alfano (Tedesco-Alfano) went to Coleytown when he was in junior high school. He said that the first day of school was full of excitement, and many people said it was almost like the first day of the new school year. .

The administrator has similar ideas.

"It's unbelievable. It's like home." Coleytown Middle School principal Kris Szabo said as he re-entered the newly renovated school.

Sabo said that all corridors have new tiles, all windows have been replaced, and the school community will also enjoy the new HVAC system. The library was also overhauled, with flexible furniture and new books replaced, and the atrium was thoroughly cleaned.

CMS staff and students have spent the past two years sharing time at Bedford Middle School, which has become more challenging during the coronavirus pandemic. But Sabo said that the reopening of the CMS will once again provide teachers with their own workspace.

She said: “I think one of the challenges teachers face is to have the privacy of making phone calls and contacting parents via email.” “Now they can go in, sit at their desks, make calls and reply to those emails. This It’s an important part of their work-parent communication."

Sabo said teachers must also continue to change the Bedford classrooms, but they do not need to interrupt their workflow now. Another benefit of employees and students returning to CMS is that science teachers now have laboratory classrooms.

Szabo said: "This will really help us provide courses written for Westport students."

Principal Thomas Scarice said that for many people, this was a challenging year and the reopening of the school marked a bright spot.

He said: "This really improves the morale of people coming here," "We need to be optimistic and positive. The employees here and the administration here are serving the community."

The teachers in Coleytown were equally excited when they returned to the newly renovated school.

The seventh grade language arts teacher Jennifer Socha said: "It's great in this new building." "It's fresh, it's new, and the children are very happy and seem to adapt. Very good."

The seventh grade math teacher Gina Zaleski said that students have adapted to the habit of having to change classrooms halfway through the two semesters on BMS, but now they are happy to have their own classrooms. She said that on the first day of the weekend, the students asked if it was time to change classes.

"I told them'No, this is our class, this is our home for one year,'" Zaleski said. "They are very excited."

Jodi Rieman, a seventh-grade science teacher, said she was excited about redecorating her classroom, and she was very excited about it.

She said: "I have been here for 16 years, but the last few years have been full of challenges." "It's great to return everything back."

Don O'Day, chairman of the CMS Construction Committee, said that the exterior wall works will continue in the next two months, but by spring, everything will be completed. O'Day, who has an office in the building, said that he will stay until the appearance is complete and will continue to help even after that.

He said: "We spent $30 million to make sure it works." "My team is responsible for letting the Kris team and the facility team understand how to use the HVAC system... it must be done correctly, and when it is done correctly, Everything will run normally."

Odai said that the town's investment in children and its investment in schools are very clear. He added that he was happy to see the students and staff returning.

He said: "When the first batch of buses opened today and the teachers started to come in, it made the past two years worthwhile."

dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com