Iroquois Middle School Undergoes Extreme Reconstruction and Welcomes A New Principal 

Many high school students who went to Iroquois can recall the middle school’s original building: a long, “L” shaped rectangle with square patterns of light beige colored bricks, blue windows, and white pavement. Every morning, teenagers would swarm into its three main entrances, hurriedly trying to get to their classrooms in time for attendance. They would commute between various regions, often staying in the same, long hallway where their team’s classrooms were designated. 

In September of 1969, the original Iroquois Middle School building was constructed nearly two decades after Van Antwerp in the 1950s. This accounted for Iroquois’ “newer” appearance in comparison to Van Antwerp, both to the relief and dismay of parents and students. Van Antwerp would go on to close in July of 1982, only to be reopened in 1990. Then five years later, “VA” underwent a period of major interior renovations. Although all of the Niskayuna District schools experienced technological improvements and renovations in 1999, Iroquois had never gone through the same level of infrastructure change as VA. 

Then on October 25th, 2022, the Board of Education approved the extensive construction and renovation of Iroquois Middle School. Despite the announcement of the reconstruction on Niskayuna’s official website, many students in the high school seem unaware of the major changes happening. In addition to structural changes, these students may also be unaware of the new principal at Iroquois, Thomas Fyvie. 

Fyvie gives a general background about himself with the following: “My name is Thomas Fyvie and I have been in education for 22 years and have served as a Physical Education teacher, Instructional Coach, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal and Director of Guidance prior to joining the Iroquois team in November 2022. I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to join the Iroquois team as Principal earlier this fall.  Iroquois is such a special school!  The students, the staff, the families and community are amazing!  I have thoroughly enjoyed my 7 weeks at Iroquois and am very excited for all the wonderful things that are on the horizon.”

The Niskayuna School District has also recently found a new addition to its staff with superintendent Carl Mummenthey. The superintendent gives a background of himself with the following: “I joined Niskayuna on July 1 after serving previously as superintendent of schools in Cobleskill-Richmondville (8 yrs) and Jefferson (9 yrs).  I've also served as a middle/high school principal, a school improvement specialist, and a high school English teacher.  My wife (who teaches middle school social studies) and I live in Cobleskill and we have two children: our son Andrew is a sophomore at Auburn University (Alabama) and our daughter Ainsley is an 11th grader at Cobleskill-Richmondville high school. I'm so honored to lead and support our team here at Niskayuna!”

In the proceeding interview, both Principal Fyvie and Superintendent Mummenthey respond to questions about Iroquois’ reconstruction:

Hillary Htun: What is being changed about the school?

Principal Fyvie:   Iroquois Middle School has begun a major Capital Project that was approved by the school community.  This project includes: 

1. Phase 1: A 20 classroom addition that is being constructed on the Iroquois Driveway side of the building.  Work began on this project in November 2022 and will continue for the next 18-24 months.  Phase 1 work also includes major drainage infrastructure being installed in various areas throughout the Iroquois campus and a restructuring of the Iroquois Parking lot.  

2. Future Phases:  This work includes renovation of the vast majority of classroom spaces within the Iroquois building.  Once the 20 classroom addition is complete the construction work will transition to renovations of classrooms on the second floor of Iroquois.  Once the second floor work is complete then the focus will transition to renovation of the first floor classrooms within Iroquois.

HH: Are there challenges that have arisen with the reconstruction?

PF: There have been some minor inconveniences that have presented themselves as challenges with the start of the construction work at Iroquois.  There are layers of protocols and policies in place that help our District team, in collaboration with the Turner construction team, to address any unique wrinkles that come about during the construction.  Safety of our students, staff, families and the wider Niskayuna community is always first and foremost.  

HH: How do you think this will affect teachers and students?

PF: I will answer this question in two different ways;  the effect of the start of construction has had on students and staff and then the effect that the Capital project will have on the Iroquois school community when it is complete. 

First, as construction has begun, the students and teachers have been impacted in that their daily patterns and movements around the building have changed.  We have lost access to two of our stairwells that needed to be demolished in order to make room for our 20 classroom additions.  We have also had to institute one way stairwells in order to ensure safety during our transition times between classes. The initial construction work has also altered some of our emergency egress pathways for students and staff.  There has been some preliminary interior work that has been conducted to prepare Iroquois for future infrastructure that is needed for our beautiful addition. 

Second, when this Capital Project is completed, the Iroquois Middle School building and campus will be one of the finest Middle School facilities in our area.  The vast majority of classroom spaces will be brand new or will be newly renovated and will include the most up to date instructional technologies for students and staff to use in their daily lessons.  Our students, staff, families and community will benefit from this Capital project in so many amazing ways.  

Superintendent Mummenthey: We're entering a very long construction cycle at Iroquois Middle School.  Construction is scheduled over the next 3+ years.  During construction, there are sure to be many inconveniences to our students, their families, and our faculty and staff---but we are working very hard to mitigate those inconveniences as much as possible.  But in the end, we will occupy a transformed campus serving all of Niskayuna's 7th and 8th grade students.  We will have added 20 new classrooms and significantly renovated many of the existing classrooms at Iroquois.  It's an exciting transformation for our students, their families, and our entire community.

HH: What are your thoughts/opinions on the subject?

PF: I am beyond excited to think of what the future holds for the students, staff, families and school community here at Iroquois.  To be able to play a small role in supporting a Capital project of this size and magnitude is something that I am appreciative of.  I consider myself very fortunate to have joined the Iroquois and Niskayuna team at such an exciting time!  

SM: I'm very grateful that our community has approved the budget for this campus transformation at Iroquois, and I'm equally excited that we'll be making a similar investment in our VanAntwerp Middle School campus which we intend to transform into a state-of-the-art learning center for our 5th and 6th grade students.  Over the next 10+ years, we'll be making similar investments in our elementary campuses and our high school campus.  Our long-term goal is to update and modernize our campuses to better meet the needs of Niskayuna's students.

HH: Additionally, will the potholes ever be repaired?

PF: Yes.  There are plans for the Iroquois Driveway and the entire parking lot area to be repaired.  Our District office and the team at Turner Construction are working to include these updates in our Capital project.  

HH: Are the potholes (besides those at Iroquois) planning to be repaired in the near future?

SM: In short, yes.  We recognize that some of our driveways, roadways, and parking lots are in need of repair and/or repaving.  Some of that work will be included in upcoming construction.  Other repairs and repaving will be "built in" to our annual operating budget beginning with next year's budget. 

HH: Is there anything else you’d like people to know about relating to the construction?

PF: I would like to thank the Niskayuna community, the Niskayuna CSD Board of Education and the Niskayuna CSD District Office administration for their approval of this amazing Capital Project.  Students, staff, families and community members will benefit for generations to come from all of the amazing work that is being done in this Capital project.  I am beyond excited to think of what the future holds for the Iroquois community.

SM: This is an exciting time in Niskayuna's history---and a unique opportunity to transform middle-level education for our students.  I'm grateful for the community's support of this initiative and excited at the educational opportunities these new and renovated spaces will present for our students.

The Warrior would like to give special thanks to Principal Fyvie and Superintendent Mummenthey for taking the time out of their busy days to answer questions for the article! We look forward to what’s in store for the future.