The Word on E Wing

Students and staff have all felt the effects of the construction in E Wing that began last spring, which has resulted in the movement of several classes, rearrangement of schedules, and the loss of the school’s beloved Arts Quad. Two IHS teachers, Sean Daugherty and Matthew Fellman, who teach technology and science respectively, give their perspectives on the ongoing construction.
 Both Daugherty’s and Fellman’s classes were located in E Wing last year. This school year, their classes moved due to the construction. According to Daugherty, this project has been “years in the making.”
 The firm responsible for designing the new classrooms approached teachers for their input, according to Fellman.
 The construction has in many ways put the school under strain. For example, many teachers now share their teaching spaces. Fellman explained, “It’s just hard finding enough classrooms for all of the courses that are being taught at [IHS].”
 The construction is expected to take two to three years in total. In order to accommodate teachers, the school has also begun construction of temporary classrooms outside of Kulp. According to Daugherty, “The temporary classrooms were originally supposed to be in place for us to move into them at the end of last school year […] I still don’t know what the schedule is going to be yet in terms of starting to transition classes.” Daugherty and Fellman said the school would likely integrate teachers into these classrooms over winter break or regents week.
 In the meantime, Fellman explained that, as a physics teacher, his class requires relatively few amenities, and that the district administration has been very helpful in the transition. “All of our administrators in the building have asked us repeatedly, ‘What do you need?’ And they’ve gotten us everything that we need.”
 Daugherty said that the custodial staff have done “a phenomenal job supporting us with what we needed.”
 Many at the school have wondered if the reduction to the district’s annual budget that occurred earlier this year has affected construction. However, as Fellman explained, the money for the construction is a capital expenditure and is thus not affected by the budget cut, which only impacts operating expenditures.
 Both teachers agreed that, although the change is definitely an adjustment, it’s manageable with some slight modifications. According to Fellman, “It’s just a little different, and I think that’s good for all teachers.”