In progress: New schools and improvements from east to west and floors to roofs
Summer work is heating up at schools across the Eugene School District, thanks in large part to voters who resoundingly passed school bond measures in 2011 and 2013.
Two aging elementary schools and two middle schools will be replaced with new buildings in the next two years, thanks to bond voters. The new schools will be attractive additions to their neighborhoods. They will provide better learning environments for students and will cost less to operate. Other schools across the district also are benefiting from building improvements and upgrades in technology, curriculum and equipment. (learn more)
Raising a New Roosevelt
Roosevelt Middle School, constructed in 1950 near 24th & Hilyard, will be replaced with a new school building. The new school is currently under construction to the west of the aging facility.
Piles were driven and concrete began being poured in late spring. Over the summer the structural core of the building will start taking shape. By the end of summer passersby will be able to see the size and shape of the final building. For a current view of the construction site, see the webcam view at http://www.4j.lane.edu/communications/bond/news/roosevelt.
The new Roosevelt will open in fall 2016. Once teachers and students move into the new school, the old building will be demolished and the Eugene Family YMCA plans to purchase that portion of the property to construct new recreation facilities. (learn more)
New Home for Howard
Howard Elementary School, a River Road area school built in 1949, is the second school currently under construction and slated for completion in 2016. Site work began in summer 2014. Construction of the new school began during the 2014–15 school year and will be completed during the 2015–16 school year.
The new school will be a two-story building, allowing the school ample room for classrooms and common spaces, while maximizing adjacent open space for outdoor learning, play areas and athletic fields. (learn more)
Laying the Groundwork
Construction is going hot and heavy on the new buildings for Roosevelt and Howard, but these are only two of the four schools that will soon have new facilities. Preparations are underway to build a new River Road/El Camino del Río Elementary School and largely replace the Arts & Technology Academy building.
River Road/El Camino del Río Elementary School, a neighborhood school with a dual English/Spanish language immersion program, will be replaced with a new school building. The current building was constructed to replace an earlier facility in 1953. The design team worked with the River Road design committee, neighbors and the community through spring 2014 to determine the possibilities for siting the new school on the constrained long and narrow site. The decision was made to site the new school to the west of the existing facility, and the design team moved forward with developing more detailed building and site plans. Initial work at the site will be completed this fall and then building construction will begin. The new school will open in fall 2017. (learn more)
Arts & Technology Academy, the neighborhood middle school located at 22nd & Fillmore in the 1957 Jefferson school building, also will get a new facility. The building will be renovated and reconstructed in place, retaining some portions of the original building. Conceptual design work is largely complete and plans will be submitted for building permits this winter. The work will be bid and awarded to the successful contractor in spring 2016 and construction will begin before school ends for the summer in 2016. The reconstructed building is slated to open in fall 2017. (learn more)
Schools on the Move
Two 4J alternative schools will move to new locations over the summer.
Charlemagne French Immersion Elementary School, long located in the south hills off Fox Hollow Road, is moving to the former Parker Elementary School building at 39th & Kincaid. The relocation is due to a need for more space for full-time kindergarten. Charlemagne’s current location, the former Fox Hollow Elementary School building, is the smallest among all currently operating 4J elementary schools and does not have adequate building capacity to implement full-day kindergarten. The Parker building is significantly larger. It can easily accommodate the Charlemagne program with full-day kindergarten and has additional space to potentially house other compatible district programs or organizations at the site. Charlemagne will open at its new location in fall 2015. (learn more)
Family School, a K–8 alternative program, has been co-located in the Arts & Technology Academy building since 2009. ATA enrollment has grown since it recently launched an innovative new STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) focused program (learn more), and is projected to keep growing in future years. To make room for both programs, the elementary grades of Family School will move this summer to the former Crest Drive Elementary School site on Crest Drive near Chambers. (learn more)
And So Much More: Other School Improvements
Several schools across the district also will welcome some work crews this summer, working on the most needed improvements from top to bottom. Some schools need more space to accommodate full-day kindergarten, a change coming to all 4J elementary schools in fall 2015, so this summer crews will be working to convert spaces for kindergarten. Other school improvement projects include removing a few remaining oil tanks, converting schools’ old boiler systems to more efficient and cleaner natural gas systems, painting, roofing, and refinishing floors.
Most of these improvements are thanks to the bond measures approved by voters in 2011 and 2013. For other major updates on bond-funded school projects, see http://www.4j.lane.edu/communications/bond/news.
