Principal Donna Sweet leads a tour of #MiddletownRI High, showcasing the strengths and weaknesses of the 60-plus-year-old building. Visitors are surprised and disappointed at much of what they saw.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com 
A CLOSER LOOK
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (OCTOBER 5, 2023) – Walking into the nurse’s office at Middletown High earlier this week, Marc Thayer couldn’t help but say “Wow. What do we have here?”
Thayer, a quiet, low-key alternate member on the School Building Committee, was greeted by a cramped, odd space with light colored cinderblock walls that seemed fractured, more than dated and smelled a little odd.
That pretty much summed up a recent tour led by Principal Donna Sweet of her Valley Road school. Although everything possible was being done to keep the 60-plus-year-old structure afloat, long-term problems deeper than “routine maintenance” keep popping up quicker than they can be fixed.
Access panels in the floor bolted shut. A wonky chairlift for those with special needs or on crutches. Water damage throughout. Mold. Failed piping. Jury-rigged electrical and internet wiring.
Interior courtyards that can’t be used. Lack of air conditioning in spots. Space constraints. Clogged toilets and sinks. A girls locker room outfitted to appear in a low-budget horror film. In short, a seemingly endless list.
“My impressions are that the 'cookie cutter' design of the high school from the sixties really doesn't reflect a dynamic work space,” said Thayer, who’d never been into the high school before, other than the gymnasium. “It’s clear we’re spending too much energy 'adapting' available space to everyday needs. Couple that with its latent non-conformance issues and we have a structure that is at odds with its purpose. We as a town can do better.”
Like others on the hour-long trek, Thayer complimented teachers and administrators for their efforts to make do with the building. But based on everything he saw, it was clear the time had come for Middletown to reinvest in its schools.
“Kudos and congratulations on the effort to get the building looking as good as it does. At least from the inside,” Thayer said. “Principal Sweet and her staff, the few I had the pleasure to talk with, are impressive. Many of the parts of a highly effective public education institution are in place. Time to bring the facility up to the staff's and students’ standards.”
Melissa Welch and her mother also were on the tour and amazed at what they saw. Melissa — sister of Town Councilman Thomas Welch — said it was sad how much of the building looked the same, just older, from when she went there decades ago.
Saying the tour was informative and helpful, Welch encouraged anyone with questions to attend. Similar visits are planned again at Middletown High on Oct. 10, 20 and 25 at 2 pm, with tours at Gaudet Middle School on Aquidneck Avenue on Oct. 11 and 12 at 2:45 pm.
“It’s been several decades since I roamed the halls of Middletown High School and it was frankly depressing to see how much hasn’t changed, but rather has deteriorated, worn down, or become unusable,” Welch said. “Facilities and resources most of us take for granted, such as air conditioning, access for those with disabilities, and even reliable plumbing are either nonexistent or barely functional.”
Like Thayer, Welch applauded everyone for doing the best they could with the school, but it was clearly having consequences.
“The facilities are far from optimal, and in some cases, are clearly having a negative impact on the learning environment,” Welch said. “Seeing the high school in its current state really drives home the point that trying to fix all the problems is simply not a viable option because the basic design of the building and its infrastructure — plumbing, wiring, access, etc. — either no longer function properly or do not meet necessary standards for safety and basic requirements for learning.
“I saw similar problems, if not even worse, during a previous tour of Aquidneck School. And even if they could be fixed, the cost would probably exceed that of building new schools, without the benefit of reimbursement from the state.”
During the tour, the first-year Principal Sweet was well versed on the issues with her school, providing details about every room, its strengths and weaknesses.
As part of the ongoing design process for the new middle-high school proposed at 1225 Aquidneck Ave. just north of the Gaudet school, Sweet said she speaks at least weekly with the project architects and the design team.
She said she feels her input — along with the feedback of teachers and other staff — has gone a long way to help create a school that matches the needs of educators within the existing parameters.
Recently, an updated report from the leading educational designer in Rhode Island — Manuel Cordero — was released, outlining how the curriculum would dictate the layout of the new building, not vice versa. Visit https://mdl.town/CorderoReport for more.
“Our input has definitely been heard throughout this process,” Sweet said. “It’s not a situation where we’re being told what the building will look like and how it all comes together. We’re the ones who are driving that dialogue. With other projects, it doesn’t always work that way, but it is here.”
“I was pleased to hear that the architects for the new middle-high school are consulting regularly with the faculty to understand current and future needs, and are planning for energy efficient systems that can support the technology needed to prepare students for successful futures” Welch said.
“Even though I don’t have kids myself, I believe public schools are truly the heart of our community. They’re preparing our next generation leaders, fueling our economy and helping to shape the future of our town. Providing a well-equipped, safe and efficient environment for learning is as necessary for our town as police, firefighters and public works. After seeing the current conditions firsthand, I'm convinced that establishing new schools that meet our current and future needs is a worthwhile investment that will continue to pay dividends for many years to come.”
Sweet agreed, saying one of the selling points that made the Middletown school system attractive when she applied was the prospect of the new middle-high school.
“Everywhere I look, I see students and teachers doing great work,” Sweet said. “The problem is the building itself is holding us back and getting in the way of where we need to be. We’re doing the best we can, but it seems like we’re putting out fires here a lot more than we should be and that takes away from the education we can provide.”
On Nov. 7, local residents are being asked to vote on a $190 million bond to build the new school on land currently being used for multipurpose fields that was once the Starlight Drive-In. The state Department of Education (RIDE) is expected to reimburse Middletown 55 percent of eligible costs, or 55 cents on every dollar.
As part of the project, HMFH and DBVW architects and project leaders Colliers International designed the school to maximize shared spaces, but in a way to keep the grade 6-8 and 9-12 student populations completely separate in the same structure.
Again, project representatives have said Middletown will not make the mistakes in other communities and deliver on everything pledged in the Nov. 7 bond.
Contrary to the beliefs of some, the School Building Committee is leading the effort for Middletown — not the school administration — an arrangement that will remain in place should the $190 million bond be approved.
That volunteer board has decades of experience in the field and meets bi-weekly with HMFH, DBVW and Colliers to guide the latest with the project. The building committee’s next meeting is Oct. 11 at 5 pm in the Oliphant administration building.
The new middle-high school is the centerpiece of a multistep effort to remake the Middletown school system and its facilities. That includes:
- Remodeling Middletown High into a grade 2-5 learning center, with more space for teachers along with new offices for the school district administration and maintenance staff.
- Renovations to the Forest Avenue School, transforming that building into the prekindergarten through first grade early learning center for the community. It would be the first time Middletown offered prekindergarten as a town, something now handled by private services or in the home.
- Making the Reservoir Road building now home to Aquidneck Elementary School a community center, something Middletown presently lacks.
- Closing the Oliphant administration building and bringing affordable housing to that Oliphant Lane site.
While project backers have said they’d love to redo all the town’s schools at once, Middletown’s independent financial experts — Hilltop Securities — have said there’s not the bandwidth to make that happen. See https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/9044/NYCU-55 for more about that report.
Besides the additional expense of “Band Aid” repairs to Middletown’s schools should the bond not be approved, the architects have said there would be major disruptions to learning. That’s because students would need to be displaced to temporary classroom trailers while remodeling work was under way.
November 2021 independent findings said about $190 million in repairs were required to Middletown’s schools before a wall or ceiling was opened to bring them to current educational standards.
Problems identified included outdated systems, poor air circulation, asbestos tiling removal, Americans With Disabilities Act improvements and other issues. To view that information, visit https://mdl.town/Report online. A subsequent report from the state backed that study. Go to https://mdl.town/FCI to check out that document.
Numbers from the town’s finance offices indicate the bond would cost the median Middletown homeowner about $2 a day if it’s approved. To see a detailed report on the projected tax impacts, visit https://mdl.town/TaxImpact online.
If all goes according to plan, groundbreaking for the project would be in the spring of 2025, with opening planned for the fall of 2027.
The council has an informational forum scheduled for Oct. 16 at 6 pm in Town Hall, with the a similar session planned by the School Committee on Oct. 19 at 4:30 pm in the Oliphant administration building.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that if we had a new high school, we’d be able to provide a better quality education for our students here,” Sweet said. “We’ve seen it in other communities, where a new building is like a galvanizing force and can give everyone the boost they need to take things to the next level. Middletown is a great community and a very diverse community and I’m looking forward to all the possibilities.”
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/9530/NYCU-Tour
