SANDWICH – Heritage Museums and Gardens has announced a new two-classroom expansion to The Hundred Acre School.
The existing space will be renovated and the school will begin serving students from pre-K all the up through grade 2.
The new classrooms will allow the school to have its first class of first graders this fall, and its first second graders in the fall of 2022.
A second kindergarten class will also be added in the fall of 2021.
Melissa Russell, Director of The Hundred Acre School, said that the expansion has been a long time coming, as the school has often been forced to put families on wait lists.
“Over the last several years, we’ve regularly had wait lists. Which is a nice thing, but at the same time isn’t a great thing. Which means that we aren’t meeting our community need, which is one of the key pieces at the school,” said Russel.
To facilitate the expansion, the Museum will renovate an adjacent wing of the school to add on the two new classrooms.
She also said that the school takes advantage of the open spaces available to it for learning, helping to ensure safety during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many of the hands-on experiences can be brought out into an outdoor area and be explored in that particular location,” said Russell.
She said that numerous other adjustments have been made to ensure safety as well, including cleaning often and following the most up to date safety guidelines.
Funding for the project was provided in part by individual donors and foundations, including the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, administered through a collaboration between MassDevelopment and the Mass Cultural Council.
The renovation is expected to be completed in August of 2021.
“We’re really excited about that expansion, and excited about allowing students that participate with us and have such a positive experience in the pre-K years to continue all the way through their early elementary years,” said Russell.
Admission at the Hundred Acre School is on a rolling basis, said the organization, and families are encouraged to enroll as soon as possible in order to secure a spot.
More information on the school, as well as registration, can be found on their website.
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