By AMY ADAMS
For The Reporter
Westfield Washington Schools (WWS) has unveiled its “Destination Westfield” expansion plan for the next several years, including building two new schools.
Construction will begin as early as the fall of 2023 on a seventh elementary school at 171st Street and Towne Road and a second middle school northeast of Centennial Road and State Road 32. Officials expect the building process to take up to three years.
WWS currently has more than 9,000 students enrolled, which is nearly a year ahead of predictions; and Westfield Intermediate School, in particular, is nearing capacity.
Veronica Winkelman graduated from Westfield High School in 2001. When she grew up in Westfield, there was only one elementary school.
“It feels much bigger, much busier,” Winkelman said of the growth in Westfield in the past 20 years, “but there are also a lot more opportunities.”
Now as a parent of two daughters, one at Oak Trace Elementary School and one at Westfield Intermediate School, Winkelman is a member of the 2022-23 Shamrock Academy, the district’s ambassador program. As part of the Shamrock Academy cohort, she attended a meeting last week at Monon Trail Elementary School to hear what Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Kaiser had to say about “Destination Westfield.”
Before a crowd of approximately 30 parents and community members, Kaiser shared a preview of the announcement the district would release on Thursday evening. He talked about the process the school has been going through to reach a consensus about how to move forward with necessary expansion to meet the needs of the school district for the future.
Kaiser, as well as Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Brian Tomamichel and others, met with teachers and administrators from each school to hear their perspectives. The majority, especially fifth grade and middle school teachers, expressed that eliminating an intermediate school would provide the best learning environment for the kids while requiring fewer transitions.
Kaiser
“The idea of creating an intermediate school was strictly based on space and growth,” Kaiser said. “The board has said that this decision should be up to the educators. This has to be an educational decision not a cost decision.”
In light of all of the feedback the district has received, they have made the decision that, once the new school buildings are complete, fifth grade will return to the elementary schools while sixth grade will move to the middle schools. In turn, this will leave the current intermediate school building available to become an eighth elementary school.
In addition to Shamrock Academy, the teachers and school administrators also received a preview of the district’s plans prior to the email and YouTube video sent out Thursday evening, Jan. 26, officially unveiling “Destination Westfield.”
“I appreciate Dr. Kaiser’s work to get input from the teachers during the process,” said Brendan Crews, a member of the 2021-22 Shamrock Academy and father of a daughter at Westfield Middle School and another at Maple Glen Elementary School. “I feel optimistic for continued academic excellence.”
“I think this sounds like the ‘educational best practice,’” said 2022-23 Shamrock Academy member Abby Kovacs, mom of two high schoolers and one recent graduate, after hearing about feedback from teachers and that other districts have found success with this model.
“Destination Westfield” also includes plans for an addition to Carey Ridge Elementary School starting in the spring of 2023, renovation of Shamrock Springs Elementary School and expansion for the transportation department, maintenance facility and athletic fields.
In addressing a common concern, Tomamichel said that the proposed development will be possible without a referendum.
Now that the announcement has been made public, coffee shop talks and speaking engagements with local organizations are underway, according to Director of Communications Joshua Andrews.
“We want our parents to have input going forward,” said Kaiser, who encourages community members to call him to set up meetings.
You can watch the YouTube discussion at youtu.be/VkIdmEB0Vj4.
If you have questions, contact Dr. Kaiser on his cell phone at (317) 385-4912 or email Stacia Pratt, his administrative assistant, at prattst@wws.k12.in.us.