A long-planned $166M redo of Nauset high school begins

NORTH EASTHAM — Construction has begun on the $166 million renovation of Nauset Regional High School, as students navigate learning in mobile classrooms and other transitions.

“We're in portable buildings and the sounds are usually bearable, not that bad,” Kelly Clifford, who will be a senior in the fall, said Wednesday at the school.

“But we are very excited, since we are juniors we're gonna get the first phase for our senior year. It's gonna be exciting for the rest of our community,” said student Tom Foley.

The $166 million project will see two new buildings added to the site as well as a renovation of all other existing buildings. The first phase includes the construction of the new buildings and is expected to be done by the fall 2024.

Following the first phase, construction will shift to the west side of campus and reflect renovations to the A,B, C and D buildings. The second phase is scheduled to be completed by fall 2025.

“There's going to be some significant changes in the campus," said state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, at the campus. Cyr graduated from the high school in 2004.

The high school had 780 students in grades nine through 12 in the current school year, according to state records.

The Nauset school project will rebuild, renovate, and improve the high school’s aging, 50-year-old campus

The campus currently presents accessibility challenges, security limitations, and inadequate facilities, according to Cyr's office.

In a proposal released May by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, the fiscal 2024 budget was expected to expand funding for the Massachusetts School Building Authority to help close unanticipated funding gaps in school building projects.

The increased funding could bring an additional $7.2 million to the school project, totaling over $43 million in state subsidy for the renovation.

The construction was budgeted at $104.9 million in 2019 and the project was approved by voters in March 2021 by the four towns that comprise the regional school district — Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, and Brewster. This year, voters approved spending up to an additional $38 million needed for the project.

Modular classrooms were installed in September, classes are continuing amid construction

“It's been a little weird with the construction noise around,” said Sara Jane Kershaw, who will be a senior in the fall, at the school on Wednesday. “Modular classrooms aren’t great, but it is the best we can do now and it has been all right.”

“I remember while we were taking an AP exam where the classroom started shaking  because of construction,” said Foley. “There are little chaotic incidents like that, but it’s not awful.”

In February, half of the campus went into the newly installed modular classrooms, and since then half the campus has been closed down for demolition and construction, said Tom Faris, educational liaison at the school.

“The only thing that's really been affected is home games because the gym has been shut down. We've had to do concerts and performances off campus but other than that, there's been minimal impact on classes,” said Faris.

After the first phase of construction, the other half of the campus is going to move into the modular classrooms and the people who are in modular rooms now are going to move into the new building, as soon as August 2024, said Faris.

"The construction company is very conscious about keeping the construction separate from the school and whenever we need something, they certainly are there to accommodate that,” said Kathleen Tringale, an education liaison at the school. “It’s been a sweet transition.”

The building project is being developed as an 'addition-renovation' plan

The original campus of the high school opened in 1972.  It took over eight years to plan and build those buildings at a cost of just over $5.9 million. In 1995, a new building, “N,” was added to accommodate growing enrollment.

Based on its initial design developed by The Architects Collaborative of Cambridge, the new design pays homage to the original concept that centers on a large student courtyard and reflects the campus setting in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

“We knocked out the former cafeteria and the former science building. We're building a new academic building at the north side of campus,” said Faris. “The new cafeteria will be in addition to the existing gymnasium, but every single building on campus will be renovated by the time we're done in 2025.”

The new “E” building will be a three-story building housing science and other STEM classrooms. Another new building, “F” will house a new cafeteria and kitchen that will overlook and open out onto an expanded internal courtyard. A new performing arts center will feature an auditorium with a capacity of 750 people, used for concerts, town meetings, lectures and other performances.

The gym is also undergoing significant renovations.

"We're all really looking forward to getting to be the graduating class of this building,” said Caroline Lovati-Brown, president of the class of 2026 on Wednesday.

Rasheek Tabassum Mujib writes about healthcare and education. Reach her at rmujib@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Renovation of Nauset high school begins; students navigate transitions