MONROE: Applegarth School renovations are on schedule

David Kilby, Managing Editor
   MONROE — As the Monroe School District prepares to re-open Applegarth School in September, the administration is keeping the public informed on the updates in the school’s renovation process.
   The main part of the project, asbestos removal, was finished over the winter. Work on other renovations is now under way.
   The plan is to renovate 12 fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms and provide new flooring, painting, lighting, ceilings and signage throughout the building and do whatever else necessary to convert the middle school into an elementary school.
   The school is on schedule to reopen in September and welcome approximately 300 fourth- and fifth-grade students, who are third- and fourth-graders this year at Oak Tree Elementary School just across Applegarth Road, said Dr. Kenneth Hamilton, superintendent of schools.
   In November 2010, the board approved closing the former Applegarth Middle School for the 2011-12 school year so renovations, which included asbestos abatement, could be completed with no students or staff in the building.
   ”The building renovations will help make Applegarth more conducive to a lower elementary student population,” said Dr. Richard Lynch, a certified industrial hygienist of Environmental Safety Management and the district’s lead environmental consultant.
   Ross Haber Associates, DI Group Architecture and McCabe Environmental have provided demographic data, educational specifications and asbestos abatement project leadership and supervision.
   Dr. Hamilton, Dr. Lynch and Gerald Tague, district director of facilities, can be seen discussing the Applegarth Elementary School opening during the March “Champions of Education” program broadcast on Channel 28/PEG Central. The schedule is to be announced.
   Veteran district principal, Dennis Ventrello, with a 40-year career in Monroe School District, will begin as Applegarth’s new principal in April.
   ”Part of my action plan as we transition to Applegarth Elementary School includes communicating regularly with all of the parents and guardians in the Applegarth-Oak Tree community,” Mr. Ventrello said. “It’s important to continue the philosophy of “school community” that we’ve worked so hard to achieve at Oak Tree School and throughout the district over the years. From a principal’s perspective, keeping parents informed about Applegarth’s progress is critical to the successful opening of the school.”
   Over the next few months, Mr. Ventrello also will be looking to get input from parents, staff and the PTA about how the community can work together to plan a grand opening for Applegarth in September.