Education

Construction done at Shoreham-Wading River elementary schools

Almost three years after Shoreham-Wading River voters passed a $48.5 million capital bond project referendum, construction has been completed at two of the district’s schools and remains underway in two others.

At Wading River Elementary School, the most notable update has been an addition to the back of the building. It includes four new fifth-grade classrooms, two new student bathrooms and a new cafeteria and kitchen, with eating tables color coded by grade level.

“It’s great because when was the last time a school district was able to add a new cafeteria?” Superintendent Gerald Poole said.

Other renovations include an expanded parking lot — with new separate dropoff loops for buses and cars — a new technology lab, two new courtyards for outdoor work in warm weather and updates to the nurse’s office.

A new cafeteria was built as part of the Wading River Elementary School addition.

Additionally, ceilings have been replaced, the entire building was retiled and all windows are being replaced, Mr. Poole said.

At Miller Avenue Elementary School, renovations included updating the main office, rearranging the library and a renovating the parking lot with a new bus loop and parent drop-off system. The Town of Brookhaven coordinated its road work on Miller Avenue with the district’s construction.

“What they did was, if you notice on Miller Avenue, they shifted the lanes over to the other side of the street so people can’t park in front of the neighbors over there and they created these 10 parking lots across the street from their homes with striping,” Mr. Poole said. “They also, for the buses, expanded the turning radiuses at the end of Miller Avenue so they have a better line of sight to make turns.”

The elementary school also received an addition, which includes numerous small instruction classrooms for speech, reading and more as well as four new kindergarten classrooms.

Ceilings, tile and windows are also being redone.

The track at Albert G. Prodell Middle School was replaced as part of ongoing capital bond improvements.

At the Albert G. Prodell Middle School one major project has been completed — ripping out the old blacktop track, which was deemed unsafe last school year, and replacing it with a new red one. A fence was added around the track and the field within it was resodded before the start of this school year, Mr. Poole said.

Construction will resume this winter. Work on an addition, which will contain a brand-new cafeteria and kitchen, will begin around February, he said. The school’s greenhouse will also be renovated for expanded further use.

At the high school, all the lockers were replaced last year. This year, the school will get a new bleacher system at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field and track as well as new pull-out bleachers in the gymnasium.

Next school year, the main office will be redesigned “for more functionality,” Mr. Poole said. Lastly, the school’s parking lot and traffic flow will be changed.

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Photo caption for first photo: The renovated library at Miller Avenue Elementary School. The updates were part of a capital bond project passed by voters in 2015. (Credit: Nicole Smith)