New School From the Ground Up
October 8, 2014
With the start of the new school year came a new school. Some of Hackley’s main construction projects have finally wrapped up and the Hackley campus has been born anew. Although there is still work to be done, the breezeway connecting the library to the Upper School has been completed due to the crew’s hard work over the summer.
One side of the breezeway overlooks the quad, while the other overlooks Akin Common. The construction also includes six classrooms that are completely new or have been renovated. The four classrooms on the top floor are dedicated to math, and the bottom two are for English.
Along with new classrooms, there are also new offices for Upper School Director Andy King, his Administrative Assistant Claudia Coy, and the English and Math Departments. In addition, there are also new workspaces for students to use during their free time, such as the seating area in the new connector between the second floor of Raymond and Goodhue.
In addition to moving into new classrooms, some teachers are teaching in different areas of the school this year. Math teachers moved into the new upstairs classrooms and Spanish teachers moved into the old math hallway, to convenience the crossover language teachers who to teach in both the Middle and Upper Schools.
While the breezeway is ready for students to use, the quad is still a work in progress. Outside Raymond and Goodhue, the construction crew is working on improving the quad by making a new loop for drop off, and paving new pathways with green space that frames the breezeway overlooking Akin Common. According to Mr. King, there is currently no estimated date of completion for the construction.
Teachers and students seem generally happy and satisfied with the new construction. Even though a lot of work is still in progress, students such as junior Julia Morgenstern understand, and are not too bothered by it. “As we’ve seen so far with how the new parts of the Upper School look, it looks amazing. So in the end I think it’s worth it,” said Julia, “and what’s going on right now isn’t as big of an inconvenience as it was last year. So all in all, it’s better.”
Senior Levi Morant and sophomore Izzy Sellon both agree that the breezeway is very helpful when traveling to different buildings. “I really like the new construction because I think it’s really convenient to be able to walk inside to the library, and it saves time,” said Izzy. Other students like the new classrooms because they’re brighter than the other Upper School classrooms.
Ms. Coy is also enthusiastic about the new construction. She said, “I’m very satisfied with the new location of my office. There’s a lot more room for goody bags, and baked treats. I like the big window so that I can see who’s coming. I also really like how the children have more places to hang out and do work.”
Math teacher Karen Casper is greatly enjoying her new classroom. She commented, “New is always good. The old classroom was hot and old and scary. This one is beautiful and bright. My room [has] amazing view of the Hudson River, so you can’t get much better than that. Through one set of windows is the Lower School and Akin Common, the other set is the river, and it’s amazing.”
All photos by Marc Rod.