Three new buildings to open
CMSD NEWS BUREAU
1/7/2019
Two new PreK-8 school buildings will welcome students this week. A third will follow later this month.
Here is what’s happening this week:
- Most of the students from Charles W. Eliot School, which has been sharing the Whitney M. Young Leadership Academy building on Harvard Avenue, will shift Wednesday into new space on the same property. Preschool students will report Thursday.
- Whitney Young students, spanning fifth through 12th grades will stay on the site, too, but relocate to a modular building purchased for the school's use. The existing Whitney Young will be demolished.
- Wednesday also will be the first day that students from Fullerton School in the Slavic Village neighborhood will attend classes in a new building. The new building is on East 74th Street, on property that was once the site of the old A.B. Hart School.
On Jan. 23, most of the students from Oliver H. Perry School in the Collinwood neighborhood will move next door to their new building. The exception will be preschool students, who will arrive the next day.
Since 2002, CMSD has built and renovated more than 40 schools. The state has paid two-thirds of the cost of new construction and full renovation, with the rest funded with proceeds from a bond issue approved by local voters.
The three newest buildings better fit new instructional models that allow students to take more control of their learning. (Read more about the new models here.)
The buildings feature large, interactive touch screens in every classroom and community, or “extended,” learning areas where children can work on projects in teams. Furniture is comfortable and can be arranged for group work.
“It’s a visual representation of how much we value them as students,” Eliot Principal Ivy Wheeler said.
The buzz has been growing at Oliver H. Perry.
“Our staff is thrilled to be transitioning to new technology. And our students received a sneak peek of the gym – they cannot wait to host our first basketball game,” Principal Brittani Irvin said. “Our current building has limited technology, blackboards and a small gym. It does not promote 21st Century learning.”
Here are separate photo galleries of the three new buildings, with scenes captured during the last stage of construction. Pardon any dust.
The building for students from Charles W. Eliot:
The building for students from Fullerton:
The building for students from Oliver H. Perry: