Construction is underway on the property that was once the Starlight Drive-In on a campus for a new Gaudet Middle School in Middletown.
The campus will span 211,000 square feet and the building is expected to accommodate close to 1,100 students. Featured in the new building will be 12 science labs and 38 classrooms.
The remainder of the buildings in the district will also undergo transformations. Middletown High School will be converted into a learning center for grades two through five. Maintenance and administrative offices for the district will also be in the building. The Forest Avenue School will be refurbished to accommodate pre-kindergarten through the first grade.
More details about such projects and their ramifications for students and families can be disseminated throughout a community with flyer printing.
Shawn J. Brown, Town Administrator, said that the long-term objective of the school construction effort is to address facility needs comprehensively enough to avoid significant capital expenditures down the road.
A sustainable and lasting maintenance plan for the upcoming combined middle high school and the refurbished elementary school of the district will also be established. Ed Collins, director of Shared Facilities, said this will be one of the most rigorous public maintenance programs in the history of the community.
Work on the Forest Avenue School will begin in the summer of 2027 and last for about a year. The new middle school is expected to be open for the 2027-2028 academic year.
