DERRY — By March of 2013, Pinkerton Academy's Career and Technical Education students will be learning in a greatly changed environment at the high school.

Work is under way on a host of CTE building and renovation projects at the school, ranging from a two-story, 15,000-square-foot classroom building in the center of the campus to renovations to many of the shop areas on the first floor of the existing Low building.

The project is being paid for with $7.8 million in state funding, according to CTE director Jack Grube.

While construction has been moving along with the classroom building and a 6,000-square-foot animal sciences and cosmetology building, the most immediate changes will be seen in the Low building.

The renovations to the wood shop, building sciences, small engine and welding areas will be completed by the beginning of school on Aug. 28, according to Grube.

For the renovations, the focus is making the space more flexible and bringing the building up to code.

“We're trying to create spaces that can be made bigger or smaller down the road,” said Grube.

By creating a greater flow and the ability for programs to share space, he said the renovated area will allow for greater cooperation among the programs.

The 15,000-square-foot building is near the site of the modular classrooms that were removed from the campus last summer.

Grube said the location allows the open site lines along the campus that the board of trustees wanted to maintain but is close to the other major CTE facility at the school.

“It's going to be a brick building that is a nice blend of the science building and library designs,” said Grube.

He said work has been moving along on schedule and the building looks to be completed by March 2013, with students moving in at the end of the school year.

The animal sciences and cosmetology building should be completed by January or February, with the possibility of the animal sciences students moving into the building in the middle of the school year. The cosmetology program will occupy the building at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year.

In addition to the larger buildings, contractors are doing the site work for a 2,000-square-foot CTE storage building. Once the site work is completed, Grube said Pinkerton students will actually be constructing the building.
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