Over the years, South Windsor has gone through plenty of changes, attempting to modernize the town. These changes range from creating more affordable housing, adding factories and constructing new state-of-the-art elementary schools. Students at South Windsor High School have been experiencing these changes firsthand.
Some of the students at South Windsor High School can still remember being little kids at the playground of the elementary schools that have since been bulldozed.
Andrew Sasenaraine, a sophomore at SWHS, moved to the town when he was 8 years old and soon fell in love with it. At the end of last year, he had to say goodbye to the original Pleasant Valley Elementary School, the first school he attended when he arrived in South Windsor.
“I was definitely sad to see the town bulldoze Pleasant Valley. It’s the first place where I made great memories and long-term friends,” said Sasenarine.
However Sasenarine believes that improvement is always needed, and he is glad Pleasant Valley received the needed improvement.
As students in South Windsor venture further into adulthood, some students are becoming citizens of South Windsor and have views as well. Most have seen their town change from the beginning. Here at South Windsor High School, some of these students are now seniors, or juniors, who have gone through elementary, middle, and high school seeing their town evolve and having to say goodbye to things they had once known and loved.
Senior JP Dargati has lived in the town his whole life and is now a senior at SWHS. Dargati went to Eli Terry Elementary School, so he has first-hand experience of witnessing the town changing.
“I felt really sentimental about the school being bulldozed but glad they made the changes,” said Dargati.
He takes a positive mindset when thinking of how much our town is evolving from its rural past to a more suburban town.
“I think these changes are for the better because it’s gonna have a circular effect in the town, where taxes will [change] with more housing, and factories being built. It also gives us a better education which benefits us,” Dargati explained.
A plethora of other educational and political changes have also occurred throughout the past year. For instance, the Board of Education and Town Council experienced a Republican shift, promising a change in town politics and a reduction in spending.
Additionally, Principal Rizzuto announced his intention to resign from his position at the end of the school year, going on to a district-wide position.
These changes to the town and educational landscape will shape the way that the town we know and love will move forward. No one will see these changes more than students who feel the push and pull effects of local policy on their education for good, bad, or otherwise.
Students aren’t the only ones who have witnessed changes here at SWHS. Teachers at the school have lived in South Windsor for a long time and have even been residents as children. They’ve seen the town develop drastically and have thoughts of their own.
“I think it’s crazy to see how much the town has grown. I’ve lived here since I was little and it’s amazing to see how the population has grown,” South Windsor High School math teacher Mrs. Correale said.
In 2023 out of a South Windsor population of 26,918, 33% of the population was people of color.
Correale believes “it’s good to welcome new people into the community, and helps us become a more diverse community, which the South Windsor community has struggled with in the past.”
Correale also believes that it can be stressful having lots of students coming into the high school all at once, but the school continues to make changes to accommodate that, such as the adoption of the Annex, which makes her feel all the more comfortable.
As the student population in South Windsor continues to grow, it also requires an expansion of school resources. Ultimately showing that, with continued large growth, SWHS is quickly running out of space and has no other building to annex.
Even with plans to upgrade and add to the high school campus’ sports and parking facilities, there has been no talk of upgrading or expanding the school itself. Class sizes are on the rise and there aren’t enough classrooms for all teachers.
“Change is going to happen, we have to evolve with the world around us,” says Correale.
