Isabella Schwartz (285)

Do you remember your first school tour, when you had no experience at Central? One topic that may have been discussed on your tour were designs of what Central may look like someday. Each plan and goal was displayed in the Spain Conference Center. You likely have had your thoughts on the situation and have been wanting updates or, maybe you have completely forgotten about it. Here are the visions that the Central alumni and community have for this incredible school over the next few years.

Refurbishing Central is no simple process. Central High School has an area of about 7 acres, a space that is being used to the fullest. The ideas and donations for using the school space branch from The Capital Campaign, an initiative of the Associated Alumni of Central High School (AACHS). It supports the physical updates of CHS. President Davis says, “We will be launching additional fundraising efforts this year because we still believe we can see this project cross the finish line.” It is amazing that the capital campaign has collected millions of dollars towards the project. Fundraising and donations are key for these updates and for the appearance of our school to continue advancing as time goes on.

What has already been done towards these renovations? President Davis explained that there are multiple renovation phases. A part of Phase One that’s already complete is the outdoor classroom along the English wing as well as parking lot renovations, which costs around $10 million. Next, President Davis emphasized that Phase Two would be the largest part. This phase constitutes construction to expand the size of the current school building. Phase Three includes improvements inside the school itself done by adding rooms, enhancing classrooms, and constructing additional meeting spaces. President Davis stated that “The Alumni Association has worked with an architectural firm to develop blueprints and designs. We actually have blueprints that show what the vision is for the work.” With all of these beautiful goals that the capital campaign has, it is worth the wait. The quality and foundation of Central High School is truly one in a million.

Everything that the music program has to offer helps to make CHS thrive. That is why the capital campaign has a layout for a state-of-the-art concert hall. As President Davis shares, “One of the main purposes of our building is to support arts programming at Central High School. We want to have updated facilities for our orchestra, our choir, and our musical performances that happen across the school year.” The music hall would contribute to the musical groups and community, especially to our talented music teachers who coordinate these performances. Mr. Franchetti says, “When you have something that is dedicated to the music department, your materials are already there, we can rehearse on the stage. You have something which makes it a lot easier, and we can call it our own. The stage itself will have more perks and give a lot more flexibility to work.” Conductors like Mr. Franchetti will enjoy Central High School’s future music hall and express how talented Central students are.

When will we be able to see the renovations for ourselves? In order for major changes to be made, there can’t be any academic courses or extracurricular activities occurring in the building. Thus, the summer months will be the most convenient time to kick off renovations. President Davis states, “It’s not something that can happen in a week, it’s something that takes months and it requires significant renovation and excavation. In terms of when the building is going to go up, we do not have a timeline of the start date yet, but I do feel optimistic that we are going to get there.” With just some patience and trust in all that Central has already accomplished, the future is bright.