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Managing Editor CHICOPEEE State Rep. Joseph Wager was awestruck during his tour of the new Chicopee Comprehensive High School. "I'm blown away by all of this," Wagner said during a visit on Friday. "It's impressive beyond words." The vocational wing of the building is being used for classes now and the academic part of the building will open Jan. 2, 2008, Principal Stanley Kozikowski explained. Once the entire building is open in January, the existing Comp will be demolished and the hill on which it sits will be leveled to make space for the athletic fields. That work would be completed by November of next year, he said, The new high school was built to educate 1,600 students. The student body at the present school numbers 1,357. Besides Kozikowski, Wagner was accompanied by State Rep. James Welch, Superintendent of Schools Richard Rege, Comp Director of Career & Technical Education Kenneth Widelo and Ron Simard from facilities management. Although Comp has the same footprint as the new Chicopee High School, there are differences dictated by the school's education mission. The academic classrooms are in the four-story building with an entrance facing Montgomery Street. Kozikowski pointed out that all of the administrative offices and the guidance offices are on the first floor at the entrance of the building, which should make it easier for parents seeking to meet with administrators. With the old Comp, Kozikowski said, parents and students had to go literally all over the building when they had business at those offices. On the second floor, Kozikowski showed the group a science classroom. Every two science classrooms share a large connecting storage and prep space, he said. Although not installed as yet, each classroom will have a suspended 42-inch flat screen television monitor for the teacher to use. Widelo showed off the new culinary arts area with a huge modern kitchen area that is adjacent to a room that will be "Compacino's," a school restaurant open to the public two days a week. The restaurant area has a separate entrance so diners won't have to walk through the building. Although the building did not have a specific "green design," Rege said the many windows provide much natural light that should cut electric consumption. Simard said that as yet projected savings from the new heating and cooling system were not available. The abundant natural light, when combined with wider hallways and higher ceilings, create a different environment than what Comp student have now. The natural light is especially dramatic in the "main street" area the corridor that is wide as a street that connects the vocational and athletic areas to the academic wing. All of the vocational classrooms and programs have larger areas and state-of-the art equipment. In the machine shop, machine tool technical instructors Robert Cantin and Dan Carroll showed the group new equipment that represents industry standards. Carroll said students who don't have the chance to learn on such equipment are at a disadvantage. Widelo said the instructors volunteered all summer to learn how to operate the new equipment and to help install it. Across "main street" are the auto shops where seven lifts are waiting to be used by students working on cars. The new auto area also includes a separate classroom and an area in which various simulators will be set up so students can practice before actually attempting a repair on a car. When Wagner was shown the new pool he explained that this might be the last high school funded by the state to have a pool. He said the state initially vetoed the pool, but because Chicopee High had one and that Comp had one in its original plan, state school officials were convinced to allow the Comp pool. Wagner explained that with the new rules governing the state funding of public schools, Comp might be the last of its kind a school designed without significant input from state officials. He said that since the state will be taking over greater control of school projects, newer schools might be more "cookie cutter." Kozikowski said the new pool area can seat 200 spectators and has electronic time recording for matches. He said the pool will be used by the city's Parks and Recreation Department and various swim teams besides by the Comp teams and physical education classes. The career and technical education (CT) wing has been dubbed the "public area," Kosikowski said because it houses the pool, the gym and the auditorium. It has its own entrance and can be locked so visitors can't access the academic wing. The auditorium can seat 780 people, 400 more than the present Comp auditorium. Kosikowski envisions the use of the space by community groups as well as the high school. The Telecom Center, outside of Westover Air Reserve Base, will be moved to the new Comp. Community access television programming will be produced from the new studio there. Rege said the new school "sends a message about the seriousness of purpose the city has about the public education system." He added the new school addresses the goal of preparing students to be ready either for higher education or to enter the workforce. He believes the new facility and equipment and the educational opportunities they bring will draw students to CT classes. For the first time, Comp will offer an honors program in CT as well. The new facility might attract students from other communities through the school choice program, Rege said, although that remains to be seen. | ||||||
