By Adam Swift
The renovation of the First Congregational Church at 26 County Road will provide the school district with a new home for the Chelsea Opportunity Academy, the Intergenerational Literacy Program, and the Chelsea Virtual Learning Academy.
In addition to serving as a new home to those programs, the project will also help create a new focal point for the district and community as well as open up space at the high school and the early learning center, according to school officials.
At last week’s school committee meeting, Ron Schmidt provided an update on the project. Schmidt is the former principal of the Chelsea Opportunity Academy and now serves as the project manager for the County Road project.
“This is a beautiful church that we now own as part of the City of Chelsea and Chelsea Public Schools, up on a hill, majestic both inside and out,” said Schmidt. “We are incredibly excited that this will be the future home of the Chelsea Opportunity Academy, of ILP, and the Chelsea Virtual Learning Academy.”
Having the three programs housed in one building will allow for better communication and create more space for the entire district, he said.
“The Chelsea Opportunity Academy, as of yesterday, had 150 students and is growing and needs the space,” said Schmidt.
The academy, which provides educational opportunities for students most in danger of leaving the school system, currently uses six classrooms at the high school.
In addition, the ILP, which provides language programs for Chelsea residents of all ages, is not a good fit at the early childhood center, Schmidt said.
“Right now, there are 300 to 400 people on a waiting list,” he said. “This will provide dedicated space where they can be installed and have their own classrooms and deliver everything they have.”
The renovations will also include office space to have everyone from the Chelsea Virtual Learning Academy in one building.
The renovation plans call for three floors of classroom and administrative space for the three programs, as well as areas for food, childcare, showering, and other services for students in the programs.
Schmidt noted that about 80 percent of the Chelsea students who are parents attend the Chelsea Opportunity Academy, and that having childcare on site will help those students overcome some barriers to attendance.
While there will be major renovations inside to convert the building from a church to a school, Schmidt said the plan is to keep the four iconic arches with stained glass windows inside the building.
“The architects have done a beautiful job of preserving the iconic architecture that was designed and built over 100 years ago,” he said, while also modernizing it for use as educational space.
The original renovation estimate for the building was $10 million, with a $5 million commitment from the city and the school department.
In addition, the project recently received $1 million from Bob Hildreth, the founder of La Vida, Inc., Inversant, Inc., and Hildreth Institute, Inc., towards the renovations.
“We are on the path of meeting with some other people who are also capable of giving large donations,” said Schmidt.
In addition, he said the project has a backup plan in place for a low-interest loan from Metro Credit Union if it does not raise the necessary money through donations.
“This has been a real opportunity to bring so many people together; we are very excited about this building,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Almi Abeyta.