In response to some community members' dissatisfaction with the initial design of the outdoor façade of the Willis Avenue early childhood learning center, The Spector Group, the architecture team the Mineola School District hired to design the new building and grounds, presented two alternate designs of the building's façade. However, even the alternate designs were met with by opposition by some residents who feel the building doesn't look like a school that promotes warmth to kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students.

At an initial meeting held to gather public input on the building, some residents commented that the façade of the building made it look more like an office building than a school. These residents felt there was too much use of glass in the building's design. They felt it also did not have a timeless design quality the other schools in the district have nor did it invite learning or fit in with what already exists in the community.

The architecture team of Michael Mannetta and Michael Spector said they are trying to create a unique building that would be inspirational to students who are beginning their education while respecting what already existed on Willis Avenue. "The education experience, we are trying to make very inspirational both on the interior and also when a child walks up to that school. Their first reaction will keep that child happy through 13 years of school or create fear. We're trying to allow it to be a fun experience," Spector said.

The architects said they would listen to community input and when some residents opposed the façade, they drew up two alternate designs, which were presented at the Oct. 12 meeting of the Mineola Board of Education. The designs featured more use of brick in addition to the other materials of natural limestone, glass and glass block. "In listening to criticism, we suggested and the board suggested that we take our elevations or what this building looks like a little further," Spector said.

The first alternative utilizes glass block to surround the stairs of the buildings as well as glass to surround the multipurpose area to create a greenhouse effect. The classrooms and district administration offices next to the multipurpose facilities have more use of brick to "try to fit into the contextual environment of what's around the building," Spector said. "In the texture of Mineola, there is a lot of brick."

Spector called the first alternative a safe scheme. "We created a scheme that has a very nice feeling, but isn't the most inspirational to a child being dropped off," he said. "This is very reactionary to our initial thoughts and discussions by the board and by members of the community."

While Spector said his firm would be comfortable with and proud of building the first alternative, he recommended to the public the second alternative. "We wanted to try to create a scheme that maybe became a little bit more inspirational and a little bit more fun while still trying to pick up some of the brick that is within the Mineola community," he said.

The second alternative design, like the first design, has glass block surrounding the stairs, glass surrounding the multipurpose area to create a greenhouse effect and makes use of limestone. However, the second alternative makes less use of brick. "What we wanted to do was instead of creating a lot of brick piers and having it look heavy, we wanted to lighten it up so the children can enjoy it and be part of it," Spector said.

The architects said they preferred the second alternative to the first one partly because it was more a horizontal design and the building, being only two stories, is a horizontal building. Also, the second alternative design makes more use of light. "Both are satisfactory to the board but I will tell you that there is one scheme better than the other," Spector said, referring to the second alternative, which he added is more inspirational to children and fits in with the context of Mineola.

The first alternative, he said, is a plan that is almost becoming a vertical scheme. "You can't really create something vertical out of something that is two stories but we tried as best we could. It's quite conservative and relatively simple, but my own feeling is that one (the second alternative) is better than another," he said.

However, some residents present at the Oct. 12 meeting again felt the designs still did not give off a feeling of warmth and expressed the feeling that the building still was reminiscent of an office building. Those that held this view preferred the first alternative scheme because of the greater utilization of brick, which they felt is more conducive to a school building and fits in better with what already exists in Mineola.

While most of the residents who spoke at the meeting again expressed concern over the look of the building, their opinion was not unanimous. Some residents preferred the second alternative, taking the architects recommendation. One resident said she liked the look of the building because it made use of light, which the architects feel would be inspiring to children.

The board of education must now decide on which of the two alternatives to have built. President John McGrath said the board would take into consideration all of the testimony heard during the meeting when making the decision, although it ultimately rests with the board as to which scheme to go with.

Although the façade of the building for some residents leaves something to be desired, there was not much opposition to the alternate design of the interior the architects proposed. The first floor of the building consists of 17 regular classrooms in addition to special classrooms designated for special services. There will be an outdoor playcourt, which will be imbedded within the building as well as a multipurpose room that can be used as a gymnasium when there is inclement weather. There will be another multi-purpose room that can be used as both a lunchroom and an auditorium. In addition, there will be a kitchen, library/media center and art room. The library/media center could be used as an 18th classroom if necessary.

The second floor of the building will contain two additional classrooms that can be used if enrollment increases or if the district goes to a full-day kindergarten program as well as a parent/teacher conference room, board room, teaching and staff dining room, administration offices and a HUB for technology.

The basement of the building will serve as storage for the district. There is also room for a wood-working shop if the board decides to implement one.

The building is configured so that there will be no entrance on Willis Avenue, but rather separate entrances for children who are being dropped off by bus and children being dropped of by other means or those who are walking to school. The entrance for children who were walked to school or dropped off by parents or guardians will be on Jackson Avenue. There were concerns raised as to the parking of the staff as well as those who are visiting the school. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Harry Jaroslaw, said he would continue to be in contact with Mayor John P. Colbert to perhaps address some of those potential problems.

Other concerns that were raised involved the playcourt and that those trespassing could gain access to during off-school hours since it would provide a secluded area for trespassers to congregate. The board and the architects will need to come up with a way to keep trespassers out while still maintaining a safe entry to the students of the school.

At a recent meeting of the Mineola Civic Association, Third Squad Inspector Vincent Muscanera said the police department, if asked, could be of assistance in the design phase of the building by perhaps making suggestions to ensure the building's safety. Dr. Jaroslaw said he recommends the police booth that currently exists on Willis Avenue remain on the grounds of the new school.

If the plans are approved by the New York Sate Education Department in a timely fashion, demolition of the existing Willis Avenue building can begin in seven months. Construction of the new building can begin in nine months and should take about a year to complete.