Fall River, MA – Suffolk, together with the Greater Fall River Vocational School District (GFRVSD) and School Building Committee, recently hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School (DRVTHS).
Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School / Renderings courtesy of Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc.
Attendees gathered at the site of the future school in Fall River for a ceremony reaffirming the ideals for which the new facility will stand, including enhancing the student experience and benefitting the school’s four sending communities of Westport, Swansea, Somerset and Fall River. Ceremony speakers included Brian S. Bentley, superintendent director, DRVTHS; James Macdonald, CEO of the Massachusetts School Building Authority; Massachusetts State Senator Michael Rodrigues; and Keith Couch, Northeast Region general manager of Suffolk.
“Suffolk is honored to partner with the School Building Committee, the Greater Fall River Vocational School District, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority to cement the innovative vision of the new Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School into reality,” said Couch. “This cutting-edge facility will allow Diman to continue to provide an unparalleled technical vocational education experience, connecting students with their passions and subsequently unlocking career paths that build the foundation for the success of the future workforce.”
Brian S. Bentley; Maureen Murphy, director of Northeast planning, Suffolk; and her father Gerry Murphy, project superintendent for the original DRVTHS built in 1968
Originally built in the 1960s for 800 students, the new facility will accommodate an enrollment capacity of 1,500 students in grades 9-12 and will include a large entry plaza, centrally located parking areas to serve both the school and the athletic facilities, a gymnasium, auditorium, classrooms, science labs and special education spaces. Additionally, the new school will feature large shops in Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology, Construction, Transportation, Business, Consumer Services, Health Services, Culinary Arts and Graphics Communications.
“This groundbreaking ceremony and the subsequent construction of the new Diman represents the next chapter in the history of Diman for our communities, our families and especially our students,” said Bentley. “The new Diman will be a physical representation of the philosophy espoused by Rev. John Diman himself, who believed that the proper training and skills achieved by students would craft a foundation strong enough to withstand whatever the future challenges of the workforce may bring. This new Diman will be a testament to the Diman founded in 1912 which sought to better the community and those who lived in it. If the future of our community is based upon those who live, work and are educated in it, then the new Diman will shine brightly to show the path forward.”
