North Colonie Central School District kicked off its multi-phased, $106 million capital project during yesterday’s groundbreaking ceremony held at Shaker Junior High School. Alongside district administration, teachers, community members, and the project team, over 400 third graders from the district participated in the ceremony, representing the first class that will attend the renovated/expanded Shaker Middle School upon completion of the project in 2020.
“To the third graders, when completed this will be an exciting building,” said Superintendent Joseph Corr. “It will offer you many opportunities to learn, grow, explore, and develop your thinking skills, and at the end of your three years here, you will be prepared for your next adventure in your life – Shaker High School.”
As the district’s architect since 1991, CSArch worked closely with the district to plan and design the district-wide capital project focused primarily on addressing the enrollment crunch at the elementary level, where some classrooms have reached or surpassed capacity. To resolve this, Phase 1 will move all 6th grade students to the renovated/expanded Shaker Junior High School, creating a grade 6-8 middle school. Phase 1 will also renovate the existing auditorium, expand/renovate the cafeteria, construct new science classrooms and labs, and create a learning commons space and library media center with makerspaces.
“This project will have such a profound impact on the student experience at North Colonie CSD,” said Daniel Woodside, Executive Principal at CSArch. “It’s an honor to be the district’s trusted design partner responsible for making this a reality.”
Overall, the project will be completed over four phases comprising significant renovations and new construction to create flexible learning spaces that will allow for hands-on, project based learning in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). In addition, the counseling and administrative offices at Shaker High School will be relocated, special education classroom space will be expanded, and security upgrades will strengthen safety at each school. The project will also include substantial site work modifications.
