GLASTONBURY, CT — Gilbane Building Company is currently overseeing the construction of the new 334,000-square-foot Norwalk High School (NHS). This facility will house two distinct schools: the P-TECH School for 500 students and a comprehensive high school for 1,500 students, including pathways for visual and performing arts. The new school will feature classrooms, labs, a gymnasium, a kitchen/cafeteria, an auditorium, a natatorium, and parking facilities. P-TECH Norwalk is Connecticut’s first Pathways in Technology Early College High School.
Gilbane teamed with Norwalk High School leadership to establish this new externship program where one senior is selected each semester to participate in an externship with the Gilbane project team. With college-bound plans and expressed interest in construction, the student works on site in the project trailer, logging in approximately six hours weekly for six weeks. During the externship, students are taught how to read construction documents (i.e., drawings), interact with the Building Information Modeling process, and shadow project superintendents, subcontractors, and the safety team on the project site. The extern also learns how to utilize Procore, an online platform used by Gilbane, to manage the continuous flow of information from materials procurement and delivery to navigating changes of design features. Upon conclusion of the externship, the students submit a final report on their experience to their NHS Advisor.
“We are thrilled to work with Gilbane to initiate an externship that sparks students’ interests and engages them beyond the classroom while teaching them professional, real-life skills," NHS Principal Dr. Lynne Moore said. "The program creates the roadmap for the next generation of architects, engineers, construction managers, or skilled tradespersons who could be enrolled at NHS."
Although school construction schedules are measured in months, the impact of the building process on students can last a lifetime.
“We are proud to launch an externship program with Norwalk High School,” said Eric Cushman, Vice President and Leader of Gilbane’s Connecticut office. “A first of its kind, this program is designed to welcome the industry’s future talent and harness the interests and curiosity of students through a hands-on experience.”
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“As a family-owned company, Gilbane is always focused on community engagement. We live and work in the communities where we build. The externship program at NHS is a natural extension of our culture and approach to building,” said Amar Shamas, Gilbane’s Senior Project Executive. “This is their school. If we can add value and help ignite a student’s passion for building while supporting the future of the industry, that’s a win-win."
The new Norwalk High School will host 2,000 students from grades 9 through 12 and is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2027. The old school will be demolished, and new athletic fields will be in place by the fall of 2028.
