Panel OKs $2.1M Naramake school expansion
NORWALK — The days of Naramake Elementary students eating their lunches in a crowded gymnasium with no natural lighting may be numbered.
On Tuesday, the Planning Committee unanimously approved a $2.1 million expansion project at the 60-year-old elementary school.
Naramake is one of three schools where students are forced to eat their lunches in a gym due to the lack of a dedicated cafeteria area, according to architect Michael LoSasso of Antinozzi Associates, which is helming the project.
Lossaso called the current dining experience a “dismal” experience for students.
The experience for students is so bad, Naramake Principal Jane Wilkins said at a Board of Education meeting in May, that she once heard it referred to as “juvie” when she first arrived at the schools.
To improve the experience, the school plans to build a 1,500 square-foot addition of kitchen and cafeteria space on the western side of the building.
“The intent in the work that we’ll be doing is to try to follow the guidance that was originally provided for the majority of Norwalk schools, where there is family-style food service and a pleasant environment to enjoy the break during the day,” LoSasso said.
The project will expand a portion of the school that is currently used as a library. The new cafeteria will be capable of seating over 70 students when finished.
One issue, however, is how the project will affect the school’s library.
Alan Lo, building and facilities manager for Norwalk, said the existing library would be cut in half. One half of the existing room will be used as a learning commons area, and the other half will be used as a cafeteria. The expansion on the building will then serve as the school’s kitchen.
Planning Commissioner Tamara Shockley expressed concern that the project will cut down on learning space for the children.
“It just sounds like you are taking some of the facilities for learning tools, which exist in a library, and it isn’t going to be replaced anywhere else,” she said.
But Lo pointed out the district and Naramake leadership played a role in determining that the library space was being underutilized at the school.
“The size of the library is substantially larger than it needs to be in today’s world,” he said. “The proposed area is proficient for the new media center that we are providing. It may be half the size of the current library, but it is more than sufficient to meet today’s needs.”
The project proposal will next go before the Common Council for final approval.