New buildings open smoothly, get thumbs-up (Video, photo gallery)
CMSD NEWS BUREAU
1/9/2019
Students from Charles W. Eliot PreK-8 School moved next door into a brand-new building Wednesday, and spirits were so high that Principal Ivy Wheeler described what she, staff and students were feeling as magical.
“It’s a beautiful space,” she said. “I’m excited. I’m excited for families to see it.”
Eliot students, who had been based temporarily in the old Whitney M. Young Leadership Academy building on Harvard Avenue, were not the only ones on the move Wednesday.
Students from Fullerton School in the Slavic Village neighborhood relocated to a new building on East 74th Street, once the site of A.B. Hart School. And students from Whitney Young shifted to an adjacent modular building purchased for their use.
The new buildings are the latest finished projects in CMSD’s continuing modernization program. The District, which will open a new building in the Collinwood neighborhood for students from Oliver H. Perry School later this month, has now built or fully renovated more than 40 schools, a number that is approaching half the system.
The buildings opened Wednesday are perfect fits for new instructional models that have given Eliot and Fullerton students more control of their learning. Both feature large, interactive touch screens in every classroom and comfortable furniture that can be easily rearranged for group work. Open “extended learning areas” give students room to work together in teams, engage in “maker” activities with Legos or models and practice robotics.
“We’re preparing the students for the 21st Century,” said Naimah Gooden, Eliot’s media specialist. “It’s a conducive learning environment.”
Treveon, an eighth-grader at the school, said the new building “has something special.”
“Where everything is placed, the design,” he said. “The hard work the workers put in, it’s amazing.”
Both of the new buildings will have one device for every student, technology that could not be used effectively until now because the schools’ former space lacked or did not have good wireless access.
Fullerton Principal Kevin Payton called his school's move “a new beginning for students, staff, everybody.” He said the technology would allow students to “learn beyond the classroom.”
Sixth-grade teacher Gina Eaton said the new space left her feeling “euphoric.”
“I could teach in a basement with a candle if I have learners willing to learn,” she said. “But it’s much easier in a bright, welcoming and open environment.”
Paul Hoover, leader of a school network that includes Eliot and Fullerton, was pleased to see the openings go smoothly. He praised teachers who went in on their own time during winter break to make sure classrooms were ready.
“This came together nicely; the teachers did a great job,” he said. “That says a lot about the staff.”
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