Professional Documents
Culture Documents
*Cheshire Elementary School: Size excludes basement utility space and a community
room without natural daylight in the 1923 section of the building.
Adams Memorial Middle School is not a viable
Option for a major MSBA funded project:
• The building is located on a small site with very limited space for
expansion and difficult topography
Adams Memorial Middle School is not a viable
Option for a major MSBA funded project:
• A steep embankment to the west separates town play fields
• A memorial park to the east also limits expansion
Adams Memorial Middle School is not a viable
Option for a major MSBA funded project:
• The existing building is in poor condition
• Major renovations would be required
Adams Memorial Middle School is not a viable
Option for a major MSBA funded project:
• Very small classrooms (~572 SF)
with the original girls locker room
and stage being used as classrooms
• Building interior in poor condition
• Approximate Cost would be $ 30
million, and the High school would
also require major improvements ($
29 million)
• Consolidating grades 6 through 12
at a single facility reduces operating
costs.
• Having the Middle School students
at the High School offers them
greater educational
opportunities/classes/facilities.
C.T. Plunkett Elementary School has been
Eliminated as a Facility for the addition of 6th grade
• Site is too restrictive for even a
minor addition
• An addition would require code
& access improvements which
would be very costly
• Consolidating grades 6 through
12 at HVHS reduces operating
costs
• It is pedagogically stronger to
have Grade 6 in a middle school,
with team teaching
Proposed Grade Configuration for ACRSD:
Adams Memorial Middle School: Returned to the Town of Adams, Adams Pre‐K returns
to Plunkett, and 6th grade from both towns go to the Middle /High School.
Hoosac Valley Regional School, built in 1970, is in
good condition and worthy of further investment :
• Size is almost large enough: 158,826 square feet
• Durable construction – original structure holding up well
with only a few cracks
• –, 1970
• Hoosac Valley Regional School has been well maintained:
– New roofs
– Heating system upgrade
– $300,000 in hazmat removals
• This Secondary School is well organized – Library, Cafeteria,
Gym and the Auditorium are located either centrally or
along major axis of travel
• Appropriate Site – open, beautiful views, convenient
location, and large size (71 acres, 57.5 Cheshire, 13.5 Adams)
allows a variety of extracurricular activities
• The Hoosac Valley Regional School has a strong curriculum:
– 85% +/‐ of graduates attend college
– Many AP course offerings,
and technical classes
– Strong Athletics
– Effective Special Education for all students
– Strong Music and Theater
– Family Traditions
– Excellent School Spirit
• However the Hoosac Valley Regional School does not have
enough space for the Middle School program:
Existing 7 ‐ 8 Middle School
21,838 sf
Proposed / Required 6 ‐ 8 Middle School
40,193 sf
• No clear main entrance to Hoosac Valley Regional School –
approach is ambiguous
• There are 28 entrances and exits to Hoosac Valley Regional
School – impossible to monitor and energy inefficient
• The Pool area is in poor condition and has been abandoned
since 2005
• Finishes and equipment are 40 years old and
worn out or wearing out
• Several program spaces are inappropriate – Library is too
large, Science labs are all housed in a single large room
Library Science Lab
• Several classrooms are “landlocked” with no windows or
natural daylighting
• Hoosac Valley Regional School has a poor energy envelope &
performance
• Improvements to the Site will be
necessary to correct deficiencies.
Unusable Tennis Courts
Running Track is in Poor Condition
Deteriorating Parking Lots and Walks
Current Use of Existing Space at Hoosac Valley:
MS
GYMNASIUM
CONCEPTUAL ELEVATIONS
Reasons for Selecting Option 2:
• Efficient layout: 10,513 nsf from space program delivered in 15,561 gsf
(1.48 grossing factor)
• Utilizes the existing building to the maximum: pool converted to gym,
no new corridors
• Provides a clear, safe front entrance for all students, but then divides
them to MS and HS, where they each have their own separate “schools”.
• Upgrades infrastructure to 21st century, boosts thermal envelope and
performance to LEED standards
• Improves school identity and provides some collective space at entry for
social interaction and school exhibits
• Consolidates administration, in the most functional location
• Improves science classrooms and labs for both HS and MS
• Decreases number of dark, “landlocked” classrooms with no daylight
• Intersperses special education classrooms and spaces throughout the
school
• Allows for team teaching in the Middle School
Conclusion:
• Renovation of the Adams Memorial Middle School
is not a reasonable option, and conditions at the
Hoosac Valley High School would remain
unaddressed requiring a future separate project.
• Adding space and renovating the Hoosac Valley
Regional School, is the most cost effective
alternative which provides needed educational
space through a single project.
• The Preferred Option allows the District to retire
the 60 year old Middle School and reduce operating
costs, as well as to eliminate the future renovation
of the Hoosac Valley High School.
Adams Cheshire Regional School Building Committee
Donald Sommer Alfred Skrocki Francis Waterman
Former Adams Selectman Superintendent Waterman Construction
1 Sommer Hill Rd., 138 East Rd., 97 Main St.,
Adams, MA 01220 Adams, MA 01220 Cheshire, MA 01225
sommerhaflingers@yahoo.com skrockia@acrsd.net watermanexcavating@verizon.net