Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Great Path Academy Building

State Department of Public Works and Manchester Community College to Host Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Great Path Academy Building

Manchester, CT- (October 1, 2007)…Connecticut Department of Public Works (DPW) Commissioner Raeanne V. Curtis, Manchester Community College (MCC) President Jonathan M. Daube, and Great Path Academy Principal Thomas M. Danehy will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $32 million Great Path Academy at Manchester Community College on Friday, October 5 at 11 a.m.

Great Path Academy will be the first public high school constructed on a college campus in Connecticut. When it is fully operational, it will serve approximately 325 students in grades 10, 11 and 12. The project is scheduled to be completed in January 2009.

The speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony, in addition to DPW Commissioner Curtis, MCC President Daube, and Great Path Academy Principal Thomas N. Danehy, will include Department of Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan; Louise S. Berry, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Community Colleges; and Chancellor Marc S. Herzog, Connecticut Community Colleges.

Governor M. Jodi Rell called the project an innovative and exciting opportunity for area students. “The new Great Path Academy will open many doors for our students who may not otherwise attempt to go to college. By creating this new and challenging educational environment, we are benefiting the entire state as we enhance the quality and competitive skills of our future workforce,” said Governor Rell.

DPW Commissioner Curtis stated, “This project represents a unique collaboration of agencies all working together to provide our students with state-of-the-art facilities as they climb the ladder from high school to college. So this is a very gratifying project for our Department to administer, from the planning stage, to design, and through construction. I look forward to a successful completion, on time and on budget.”

Commenting on the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony, Manchester Community College President Daube said, “This ceremony marks one of the most exciting days in the College’s history. It symbolizes our close relationships with the secondary schools in our district.”

The project consists of a 75,000 square foot, two-story facility, which will resemble the other modern-looking structures on the MCC campus. The building will consist of flexible learning spaces and advanced technology; an internet café; a gymnasium; and a community room. The design promotes easy access to the College and facilitates collaboration between Great Path Academy and MCC.

The architect for the project is Tai Soo Kim Partners of Hartford, the contractor is Banton Construction Company of North Haven, and the construction administrator is Gar-San Corporation of Watertown.

Great Path Academy students presently come from the towns of Bolton, Coventry, East Hartford, Ellington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Manchester, and Tolland. The students are immersed in the College community and are encouraged to accelerate their post-secondary studies by taking college as well as high school courses.

Great Path Academy is part of a growing national trend to establish high schools on college campuses. It is a middle college high school with its own Governing Board and an interdistrict magnet high school managed, on behalf of the community colleges’ Board of Trustees, by the Capitol Region Education Council.

Manchester Community College is the largest of the state’s twelve community colleges. Conveniently located off of I-84 in a park-like campus, the College serves over 12,000 students a year. The state Department of Public Works is responsible for the design and construction of major capital building projects (except highways and bridges) for most state agencies, leasing and acquisitions statewide, and facility management, maintenance and security of state buildings in the greater Hartford area.

Members of the community are asked to RSVP at 860-512- 3100, plindo@manchestercc.edu; or 860-512-3560, cgardner@manchestercc.edu or 860-512-2913; CPongetti@manchestercc.edu.

The mission of Great Path Academy at MCC is to provide an innovative learning environment that supports students from diverse backgrounds in developing the values, self-discipline, work habits, academic and life skills needed to achieve success. Students at Great Path Academy are fully immersed into the college community and are encouraged to accelerate their post-secondary studies by supplementing their high school program with college coursework.