Conte-West Magnet School

The Harry A. Conte West Hills Magnet School is guided by the motto “encouraging the curiosity of an explorer and the creativity of an innovator in each of our students.” From the structural history of this space, it is clear that innovation was at the center of the planning of this space and exploration is the experience of those who interact with it. From an outsider’s perspective, approaching this building, which more resembles a concrete fortress than an elementary school, inspires both awe and intimidation; it consists of three two-story pavilions with vast concrete colonnades encasing a fully-windowed interior facade. Standing in stark contrast to the Italianate residences evenly spaced across the perimeter of the Wooster Square park, Conte-West immediately catches a pedestrian’s eye.

From a child’s perspective, this building is meant to be explored and meant to be a place of play, investigation, and discovery. Conte-West students have been in the New Haven Independent as they constructed an outdoor habitat in 2016¹ and as their school implemented play-based instruction in 2019², one year prior to the launch of a year of virtual learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The school’s structure and external appearance reflect the priorities of child-centered education and programming; students are allowed to stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows, get distracted by stillness of the central courtyard or the motion of the streets, and physically interact with outside as they transition from one section of the building to the next.

Central to an interaction with the social and structural history of Conte-West are the elements and experiences of wonder, discovery, and childhood.