The Pelham Board of Education met on Wednesday to award a contract for general construction of the new Hutchinson School and to hear updates concerning the district’s other building projects.

After rejecting the first round of bids, which came in over budget, the board awarded the general construction contract for Hutch to Uni-Mak Construction. While many of the details for the project’s start date and work hours are still being finalized, equipment may start moving on to the site within the month. The district’s construction manager said the project is projected to be finished by fall of 2021.

“We look forward to seeing this project, as well as all of the others from the 2018 capital improvement referendum, blossom over the coming months and years as we seek to fulfill our commitment to the community and improve our physical plant for our students,” said Superintendent Cheryl Champ.

The bids for construction at Prospect Hill went out on Thursday, said Assistant Superintendent for Business James Hricay. Rebids for the masonry and roofing work on the annex between the middle and high school are scheduled for Thursday. Hricay also said installation of new turf fields and replacement of the tennis courts at the Glover Field Complex have been put on hold until warmer weather allows for work to continue.

In an update on authentic learning, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Steven Garcia said the district has been working with the Tri-State Consortium to review Pelham’s science curriculum. The consortium has been evaluating physical and digital evidence of student engagement in the sciences in grades K-12. The review began in the spring of 2019 and culminated on Thursday in a final workshop, involving a team of science teachers and administrators, as well as representatives from Tri-State.

Julia Chung, assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services, provided an update on the whole child initiative, including strides taken by the multi-tiered support system (MTSS) secondary committee. The committee has begun looking at different social-emotional learning programs employed by other schools with the goal of implementing similar initiatives in the district.

In her report, Champ said the second middle school orientation will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 in the Pelham Middle School library.

The board’s next meeting is Feb. 26 at 8:15 p.m.