WARREN Shamar Lyons' eyes opened wide and his body rocked from heel to toe and back again as he described the gymnasium at his new school, Warren City Schools' new Jefferson K-8 Building.
Shamar, 7, who will enter second grade when the school district kicks off its 2010-11 school year on Tuesday, bounced about with excitement as he and his mom, Joy Marsh, shared their impressions of the new school, which is one of the district's final two new buildings to open. The other, the McGuffey K-8 building, is in the northwest corner of the city at 3465 Tod Ave. N.W. The new Jefferson is in the southwest corner at 1543 Tod Ave. S.W.
Shamar, who previously attended the ''old'' Jefferson building, which once stood nearby, got his first look at his new school during a districtwide open house on Thursday.
"You've got the gym with all these hoops and stuff, and it's so cool," Shamar exclaimed. "I really like it."
At the start of the new school year, all five schools constructed through Warren's new building project will be open for the first time. Three of the buildings, Warren G. Harding High School and the Willard and Lincoln K-8 buildings, were already completed and in use.
The new Jefferson and McGuffey buildings were the featured sites during the open house, which provided parents and students with a sneak preview of the two buildings.
"You see the looks on the students faces and in their eyes," said Steve Chiaro, lead principal at Jefferson. "There's a lot of excitment here, among the students and the parents and the teachers. It's great to see that. Bricks and mortar do not make an education, but excitement about being here and being in a new place sure helps. It's great to see so many students so excited about coming back to school, or coming into a new building for the first time. It really is an amazing thing to be part of.''
Work at the two, almost identical, buildings was packaged into one project, meaning all projects were combined to encompass both buildings - including construction, plumbing, electrical work and other assignments. The main difference is the color scheme - green at McGuffey and blue at Jefferson.
"It's just great to be here and see everything so nice and new and clean," explained Ramona Ramsey. Two of Ramsey's children, 7-year-old Elizabeth and 5-year-old Erina, will be attending the new McGuffey school. ''The girls are really excited. I'm excited for them. There's so much room here, so much space. I just think it's great. I think they'll be really happy here. I think all of the kids will be."
The district's $138 million construction project was funded through an agreement with the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission, with the OSFC kicking in 81 percent of the cost. The school district's share, 19 percent, is being paid for through a bond issue.
The district's master plan, which was developed with community input and approved by the OSFC and the board of education, included the construction of the five new school buildings. Four of the new school buildings are K-8 elementary schools designed to accommodate between 700 and 1,000 students each. The schools are located at the four quadrants of the city. McGuffey and Jefferson each have a 750-student capacity.
McGuffey and Jefferson, each two-story buildings, have similar floor plans, with most classrooms running along the outer walls and most of the common areas centrally located. Each of the district's buildings now has its own operating kitchen. In the past, meals were prepared at one site and distributed each day to the other school buildings.
The buildings are divided into sections to keep children in their appropriate age groups.
Posted on the outside of each building is a sign that reads "Welcome to the 2010-11 School Year. New school ... New Beginnings."
"That's so true," said April Witt, whose 5-year-old daughter, Kaylie, is going into kindergarten at McGuffey. "It's wonderful. We love the playground. We love the whole thing."
Many parents, who attended one or more of the district's buildings that have been or are in the process of being demolished, admitted to having mixed emotions about new buildings replacing the old - including Warren Western Reserve Middle School, which once served as one of the city's two high schools.
"I went to several of the schools in the district, including the old Jefferson," explained Vernetria Jennings. "It's sad. You have a lot of memories. But you want better for your children, and those buildings were old and outdated, and these are new. They're beautiful, and the children can be proud of them. It was time for something new."
