Learning Corridor on Schedule Despite Setbacks

Across the street on the east side of campus, the construction of the Learning Corridor project is in full swing. The complex, largely financed by Trinity College, will include an elementary school, a middle school, and a magnet high school. It is slated to open for the 2000-2001 academic year.

"The project is on time, and we have a good system in place to make sure the construction runs smoothly," said Eddie Perez, President of SINA (Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance). SINA is leading the construction of the Learning Corridor, with the aid of the College, and neighborhood committees.

With the opening of the Learning Corridor less than a year away, administrators have been hired to head the specific schools. The high school at the Learning Corridor is divided into two parts: a Performing Arts school, and a science and math academy. Mitzi Yates, who heads the existing Academy for the Arts, will continue to head the program at its new location in the Learning Corridor. Today the program exists in an old funeral home on Wethersfield Avenue.

Jeffrey Osborn has been hired to head the math and science school, which will have about 350 high school age students attending. He most recently was employed as a professor at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Osborn has also been hired by the College as an adjunct professor of research in biology and neuroscience. Timothy Nee has been hired as Principal of the Montessori/Elementary school, which has a projected enrollment of 350 children ranging from the ages of three through twelve. The city of Hartford Middle School, which will be located in the Learning Corridor, has not yet named a Principal. It will be the fourth middle school in Hartford, and will enroll approximately 600 children. There also has been pressure to reserve the school for neighborhood children. "There has been pressure city-wide of interest to attend this school. But it is our hope that we can reserve it for the surrounding neighborhood," says Perez.

There are a few challenges facing the Learning Corridor developers today and in the near future. First of all, the windows need to be installed by Thanksgiving, so construction can be concentrated on the interiors of the buildings when the weather gets colder. Also, the buildings will not be available for moving all supplies and furniture indoors until late July or early August. Clearly, the schedule will be tight for setting up the interior of the schools.

Mr. Perez is impressed at the amount of community spirit and involvement that is occurring at the site. Many neighborhood workers have been trained on site in fields such as masonry, and currently, 32 percent of workers are Hartford residents. Also, 40 percent of the workers are either minorities or women. Mr. Perez cites the fact that the original goals of the building committees were to have 30 percent Hartford residents, and 20 percent women or minority workers. "The construction of the Learning Corridor has become a community institution rather than a government institution," states Perez. "We have trained many individuals in construction, and hired them to work on the site."

Students, while noticing the rapid construction of the buildings, have little idea about what really is going into the Learning Corridor, and how they will be affected by it. Seth Tillman '02 stated, "I have seen the construction behind Broad Street since I first arrived here last fall. However, it's been hard to see progress, and I haven't been told what the purpose of the construction is." Andrew Robinson '02 states, "The Learning Corridor is a big financial investment on the part of the school, and I think that students should know what's going on."