Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School has been under construction for quite some time. The plan was approved a few years before the beginning of its construction. This proposed plan included the addition of new classrooms, an updated wing of classrooms for kindergarten and first grade students, along with a new cafeteria that could be used as a space for school assemblies. The first plans were initiated in 2017 and the construction began in 2019. The school is nearly finished. However, students and teachers moving in has come with its challenges. There were many construction delays that kept progress behind schedule, as well as the need to hire a new construction company. Although these setbacks put the construction schedule behind, the project is back on track. Currently, there is no finalized date regarding when the project will be completely finished, but once there is a punch list–which means that they are in the final stretch of having only a few things left to add–we will have a better idea of the exact end date.
So, what is finished and what is left to do? The courtyard is very close to being completed. In addition, the new main entrance is now open and being fully utilized now that the necessary security measures are installed. All classrooms in the new wing are now fully functional and being used by the students and faculty. Along with this, the elementary school office is completely ready and is operating outside of the main entrance right off the new parking lot. There is a new parking lot with entrances that allow for facilitated pick up and drop off of students. In approximately mid-December, the kitchen will hopefully open up for hot lunches and the courtyard will be fully complete. This news is very exciting considering the lengthy process to reach this point. Now, the school can continue to make progress, and the students and staff can adapt to a beautiful, fully-functioning school building!