The New Main Entrance

Michelle Luo

Around noon, a parent walked in the main entrance of Colonie Central High School. She needed to drop-off books for her daughter. Instead of going through the second set of doors or going to find someone, she simply put down the books on the side bench and scribbled away on a clipboard placed there. Then, she left. That was the new policies of the school this year. The school introduced a new security system along with the new structure of the new main entrance. Now, after 7:30am, all the school doors lock. People have to enter through the main entrance, which requires them to buzz in.

In the summer of 2014, the South Colonie School District renovated the main entrance of Colonie Central High School. Construction started after the school year of 2013-2014 ended. The Board of Education members wanted to bring this change to the main entrance since years ago. They wanted to create a safer environment inside the school with a new security system, and they wanted to create a convenient handicap accessible entrance for the disabled. Although the project to build the new main entrance started years ago, the actual construction did not start until years later. The project required many steps before it could have been approved by the state. The project received grants from the state, but members still had to get the blueprints down. Then, they had to wait for the construction bidding and for bonds to get passed. “It was really quite the process,” stated Mr. Robilotti, the building principle.

This process to advance the school building is appreciated by many of the students and faculties. Many students felt the same way that the Board of Education members felt about the old main entrance. They saw the old main entrance as outdated, inconvenient, and not well-regulated. Brittany Moeske, a senior at the high school, thought this should have been done way earlier because the old main entrance was “long-overdue.” Another senior, Courtney Yule says, “The renovations are tremendous and is extremely beneficial to the school community.” Mark Fisher, a school staff says, “This is the future… it represents the society we live in now days. Ever since the 9/11 incident, safety became a major issue. This change for safety is paramount.”

The rebuilding of the main entrance shows the advancement of the school toward a safer and better school community. The people in need of handicap accessible doorways used to have to go all the way to the far end of the school to enter. The process was inconvenient and unfair to those individuals. The new entrance, which has four handicap accessible ramps, helps many people. It also has a new built in security system, which helps regulate the amount of traffic in school. With the new policies, people cannot enter the school without being inspected. This promotes a safer environment for the students and faculties. Colonie Central High School took a huge step in improving the school environment for everyone.