Community Building at Community Nursery School

Left to right: Karen Griffiths, Jenny Anderson, Jim Caouette, Joanne Pressman and Mary-Gayle Sweeney of the Building Committee with John O'Donnell (center), President of Patriot Community Bank. Patriot financed the construction of the new building.

By Heather Aveson  |  When is a building more than just a building? When the look, space and feel reflect not only the needs of its inhabitants but their values and sense of community as well. That is what the new Community Nursery School building at 2325 Massachusetts Ave is all about.

The structure made its public debut during the Yellow Balloon Fair on June 4th and received rave reviews. Nine year-old Sam Andrews spent a year in the ‘far room’ of the old CNC building. “I think it’s improved. It looks more modern. The other building was old and made out of wood. The other one was tiny.” Sam’s impressions are just what architect Mike Waters likes to hear. Mike is the parent of two CNC alumni, Christopher and Tobin who both attended the school in the mid-90s. He was apprehensive about how the design would be greeted by the school community. “I’m continually surprised by how much people like it. People took to the initial sketches right away.”

His trepidation came mainly from the unconventional materials chosen. The structure is built of pre-engineered steel, which was far less expensive than traditional wood construction. These materials actually work better with their goals than the residential looking wooden designs they had first considered.

“The kids did incredible drawings of what they wanted to see. The building needed to be more about the kids than the adults. It had more to do with kids having fun and making the shapes recognizable. With the steel you can see the component parts,” explains Mike.

Longtime Director Joanne Pressman studied the Reggio Emilia early childhood programs developed in Italy shortly after WWII. She brought much of what she learned to CNC, including an emphasis on learning environment. “Children deserve to be in a space that is engaging and inspiring. We called ourselves a community school but there was no place to celebrate community.”

Mike Waters shared her concerns agreeing that there was no public space and adding that the shotgun style of the old school meant having to go through one classroom to reach another. The new building solves both problems, and many others.

The school community knew their aging wooden structure was in need of more and bigger repairs. Mike Waters remembers when he first came to CNC as a parent, “I was invited nicely by Joanne to join the building committee. Somehow I was volunteered as a handy person. I became very familiar with the building.” Joanne Pressman had a way of nicely inviting members to join the committee. Jim Caouette, a parent of five knows. “I’ve been on the building committee since my first daughter, Andrea, started at CNC fifteen years ago. I’ve replaced boilers, fixed the driveway. I can’t say enough about the community of people. We pull together for our members.”

But the old structure’s maintenance demands were getting away from them. Current Director Liz O’Neil says, “Three years ago board members really focused on the big picture, we were looking at a leaking roof, etc. Parents had always helped, but we were beyond that now.” The board voted to rebuild in 2009 and began a capital campaign in January of 2010. Again the community pulled together, this time in support of a new school building. Liz adds, “more than fifty percent of people contacted responded. People gave whatever they could give. We received 2/3’s of what we needed within the first three months.”

Patriot Community Bank has provided the financing for the project. Says building committee member Trisha Kennealy, “We couldn’t have done it without them!”

In September, teachers, parents and students, new and returning, will start the school year in this wonderfully kid friendly building. Jim Caouette is as excited as anyone, “The new building is tremendous, it’s exactly what we had in mind. Now we’ve got a building that fits our needs.”