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Schools

Magnet School Neighbors Facing the Future

Some have embraced it after hearing about the curriculum it offers.

Neighbors of the Fairchild Memorial Magnet School, recognizing that the school will be built, are looking ahead.

They aired their views at a recent forum hosted by Town Councilmen Chad Ciocci and Tony Scinto, in whose district the school lies.

Ciocci asked, “What are your concerns about the construction?  We will bring them to the construction team... We have a relationship... They listen to us.”

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The chief concern was potentially increased traffic on Old Town Road once the school is completed, leading to a request that the main entrance be placed on Quarry Road. 

They are concerned about neighborhood security. They ask that a fence be constructed around the property (which may also be a good idea once construction materials are brought to the site) and they want to assure the perimeter is attractively landscaped.

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Scinto raised a concern of the Pequonnock River overrunning its banks and flooding the property. Though this issue was raised during Trumbull’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, he seeks additional review.

Other issues come to the fore once the school is in operation. These include the impact of the school on property values. Attendees asked about how the school will be landscaped, whether Old Town and Quarry Roads will be resurfaced, whether drainage will be upgraded, and about safety and privacy with a larger number of people accessing what is today a residential neighborhood. 

Ciocci and Scinto said they plan to bring these issues to the construction managers as soon as possible in order to help their constituents gain closure.  Scinto added that the school will be built “at all costs.”

When Doug Sutherland, an interested party but not a neighbor, provided plans and described the curricula, all were impressed with the physical structure and the school’s benefit to Trumbull's school system.

During a recent walking tour of the neighborhood, neighbors told Scinto and Ciocci they realized the school's path can't be reversed. They said they simply hoped it wouldn't hurt their neighborhood.

The councilmen said they had opposed putting the school in the park and spoke up at Trumbull town meetings.

Gary & Margery Thoma, of Wilson Avenue, have lived there for 33 years and complained of cars "racing" on street. "None of us know what's going on," he said.

Eleanor Bonfietti, of Old Town Road, a 20-year resident, said there is a "terrible situation with school buses... [A] curve on Sylvan Avenue [is] dangerous."

Diana Terita of Wilson Avenue, the mother of a 15-month-old, wanted to sign her child up for the school once she learned what it will be. Her neighbor, Josh Danis, was unhappy at first, then favored the project after learning more about it.

Mayra Rosario of Wilson Ave called her street "already like a turnpike," adding, "I want more Trumbull kids."

Meanwhile, First Selectman Tim Herbst has said if neither Trumbull nor Bridgeport approved the school, the state could have applied and overruled local zoning laws.

A Green School with Three 21st Century Career Programs

The $126 million, 1,500 student school is being built at state cost, making it the largest such project undertaken by the state. Inter-district magnet schools joining urban and suburban districts are required by the state to remediate issues arising from the Sheff v. O’Neill decision. This 1989 suit found de facto segregation that resulted in predominantly white West Hartford students receiving a higher quality education than those in the mainly minority Hartford district.

This school will add to the 65 state-funded magnet schools already in existence.  And Trumbull will have the opportunity to add to the 107 students it already sends to magnet schools in Bridgeport.

The 200,000 square-foot facility will offer the newest in 21st century green and digital technology throughout, and will be a model of landscaping. The facility will include a main building with a cafeteria, a gym, music studios and an auditorium, and three pods, each dedicated to one of its state-of-the-art academic programs:

  • Zoology and Life Sciences, in conjunction with the Beardsley Zoo;
  • Information Technology in a Digital World, with Sacred Heart University;
  • Physical Sciences, Math and Aerospace with Sikorsky and other major area employers.

Given that a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten magnet school operating near the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport received 3,000 applications for 150 seats, it is anticipated that admissions to this school will be highly competitive.

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