Madison students head back to school with brand-new elementary building

MADISON, CT (WFSB) - Public school students in Madison headed back to class on Tuesday.

The start of the school year was intentionally delayed until after Labor Day to give construction crews a little extra time to finish the town’s newest school, Neck River Elementary.

Now complete, the building welcomed more than 600 students in pre-k through 5th grade.

District leaders said the school is designed with modern classrooms, enhanced learning spaces, and three brand-new playgrounds, which local children have already started to enjoy.

“It’s very big! There’s a playground for each grade, the gym is huge,” said Madison parent Meaghan Cunningham, who has four children in the district. “They were so excited this morning. They got up early and made their lunches themselves.”

Her son, Patrick Foley, a fourth grader, agreed the excitement level was high.“This year’s extra exciting because we have a brand-new school,” he said. “And it’s been a very long summer!”

Even younger students like second-grader Elaine Foley were eager to get through the school doors and made sure to call out their older brother for not waking up early enough.

“Patrick did not wake up early. I had to wake him up,” she said with a laugh.

While the new building brought plenty of buzz, many students also looked forward to familiar traditions, like being greeted by teachers as they walked in.

“I think there’s going to be teachers around greeting us in because they did that last year,” Elaine said.

Construction began in April 2024, and the project was completed in less than a year.

School officials said the building marked a major investment in the future of Madison’s public education system.

In addition to Neck River Elementary, three other schools, including another elementary school, an intermediate school, and Daniel Hand High School, also opened their doors to students Tuesday morning.

Tuesday was the official launch of the fall semester for the district.