Upgrades Made to Westwood Schools Prior to Start of 2010-2011 Year

Students heading back to school this week may have noticed a few changes to their buildings since classes were dismissed in June.

Newly carpeted classrooms, freshly painted walls and landscaped yards are just a few of the improvements made every year. This summer also brought some additional work, including a new classroom at the Sheehan School, a raised sidewalk at the Hanlon School and security cameras at Westwood High School.

"The summer is the most efficient time to get most of the capital work complete
because we have access to the buildings," said Heath Petracca, director of business and finance at Westwood schools. "Although each summer it seems like more and more groups are using the buildings, which is great, but it makes time lines tighter."

Westwood Patch spoke with Petracca about the details of some of this summer's improvements, which are outlined below.

• The Sheehan School's playground area, long in disrepair, was repaved for at a cost of $24,000. Trees around the area were also cut back, said Petracca.

• Also at the Sheehan, a new classroom was erected using existing space in the library because of the large number of first graders entering the school this year. The classroom, which will be used as special education space, cost approximately $9,000.

• This fall, an outdoor classroom is also being developed at the Sheehan School, allowing teachers to conduct classes outdoors, particularly science curriculums involving gardening and plant life. The project, which has not yet started, is being funded through the Westwood Education Foundation.

• The exteriors of both the Hanlon and Sheehan schools were also painted.

• After safety concerns were raised from parents, a new, raised sidewalk was constructed at the Hanlon School on Gay Street to create a more fluid drop-off and pick-up area. The cost of the project was $15,000, said Petracca.

• Approximately $12,000 was spent to replace the main hallway floor at the Hanlon School. "It looked like a mosaic because we had been periodically replacing tiles" Petracca said. "It was time to change it out,"  

• Several of the gymnasiums were resurfaced.

• A central security system was installed at Westwood High School, including new exterior cameras. Videos can be viewed at a monitoring center at the high school, as well as by police at the Westwood Police Station. This fall, exterior cameras are also being installed at the elementary schools, allowing officials to remotely review them from the high school's central monitoring area. The cost of the project was approximately $18,000. "The cameras will be there to prevent vandalism and that sort of thing," said Petracca. "We haven't had anything major in awhile, but it's better to be safe than sorry."