St. Anne's institutes major changes

The changes include a new conference center, gymnasium and library; nine new classrooms created in the old gymnasium; renovated areas for a medical clinic and St. Anne's preschool program; and a new daycare program. The latter, which targets three- and four-year-olds, is open to the community.

The new changes will be guided by a new executive director, Richard Riccio. He will administer an annual budget of more than $13 million. Mr. Riccio, an Amsterdam native who now lives with his wife Sandy in Delmar, previously taught at St. Anne's and was later education director. He had been assistant executive director since 1991.

"I look forward to meeting the challenges of this new position with excitement and enthusiasm," he said. "As we expand our scope to focus more on families, we will continue to work with other area agencies to strengthen the lives of those in our care."

St. Anne's had hoped to renovate and expand its facility since legislation was passed in 1991 allowing private schools to have access to State Dormitory Authority funds, according to Mr. Riccio. He said that the school had not made major changes to its campus since it was founded in 1887.

One problem that needed to be addressed, said Mr. Riccio, was the lack of classroom space. Several teachers didn't have their own classrooms, and moving from room to room was inconvenient. In addition, "several classrooms were much too small to be conducive to a learning environment."

The gymnasium was also in need of some changes, he said; for example, radiators that ran around its sides weren't appropriately placed for students playing sports.

Dormitory Authority funds finally became available in spring 1998, Mr. Riccio said, with a loan to St. Anne's at a 5.6 percent interest rate. The school began work immediately, seeing the loan as "a window of opportunity we might not get again."

To pay back the loan over the next two decades, St. Anne's has added $15 to the $100 a day charged to counties and school districts for each student.

While the renovations were taking place, students had to deal with some minor inconveniences, but the director noted that the construction crews were "very sensitive to our programs" and that the teens "did remarkably well" in handling the changes.

Mr. Riccio stated that the renovations "allow us to do what we do better, and in a better environment -- and that makes our program better."

(For information on St. Anne's Institute or its daycare program, call 437-6500.)

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