In many ways, school buildings should be miniature versions of the communities which create them.
For one thing, the children we send to them each day represent our own society, mirroring its priorities, its interests, and our hopes for its future. School buildings are often also the face of our communities, since local residents and visitors alike come for tournaments, milestone ceremonies, sporting events, and performances.
There has been much community interest, recently, in assuring that our school buildings truly do reflect the needs and interests of district students and residents. A few months ago, the school board responded by looking into an appropriate plan for expansion, renovation, and improvement. This plan was to have two priorities: meeting the needs of those who use our buildings, and being fiscally responsible.
I hope you have had the opportunity to attend at least one of the public meetings which have already been held. More information will be available soon in the form of published materials; you can also read more on the school web site: nrheg.k12.mn.us. Naturally, Board Members, myself, and other members of the school staff would also be happy to answer any questions.
I also hope you plan to vote on June 9. I believe you will see that renovations currently being considered will satisfy many needs, beginning with improved student safety and proceeding to greater educational efficiency and an improved experience for public events and performances.
Recent renovations to district buildings have brought important improvements. The new lower commons and updated kitchen facilities at the New Richland site have fostered more of a sense of community within the building, giving students an inviting place where they can gather for anything from casual conversation to guided study time. The secure entryway offers much stricter control over who is entering or leaving the building during the school day.
It is important to have that same sense of control in our elementary building in Ellendale. Preliminary plans have a number of safety upgrades for our youngest students. These include extending the property so that bus loading and unloading can occur away from the street, and installing a secure entry which connects directly to the school office, rather than allowing visitors direct access to school hallways.
To solve the pleasant “problem” of expanding academic programs, we are also looking at expanding the number of classrooms in the Ellendale building. Plans call for renovating selected spaces within the current structure to create six additional rooms, some of which would be used to help diversify and expand the ways our youngest students are taught. Learners could be grouped for targeted instruction, with lessons delivered at their specific levels.
Another way we hope to make the learning environment more pleasant is by controlling the humidity in all district classrooms, both in Ellendale and New Richland.
Since the main gym in Ellendale is also where concerts and performances take place, upgrades to sound system and improved sound dampening will provide a more enjoyable experience for our elementary programs and concerts.
Similar and even more comprehensive changes are in the works for the northeast gym at the New Richland site. This space would still be suitable for practices and gym classes, but would no longer be the location of indoor sporting competitions like volleyball and basketball games. Instead, its usefulness for performances, concerts, gatherings, and ceremonies would be improved. The wooden bleachers would be replaced by more comfortable, retractable tiered seating for about 600 people. Acoustic features would be installed to improve sound quality, making it easier to appreciate performances, speeches, and music. For the sake of improved learning and practices, the band and choir rooms would also receive some acoustic upgrades.
At the southeast corner of the building, in the direction of the outdoor sports facilities is planned. This area would not only be large enough for the types of games already being held at our school, it would meet state high school league standards to hold tournaments and larger-scale events. The upgraded sports facility will not only be more comfortable and attractive, it will allow more competitions and events to be scheduled locally, probably increasing the number of people who come to our communities.
Also providing additional gym space which is always a premium, lessening the early/late practice time students must spend in support of their specific sporting team. As a bonus, its location places it only a short walk down the hallway from the commons area, where concessions could be sold and served.
Along with the new gym would be new locker rooms and an improved weight room. From my perspective, the new weight room is an absolute necessity: Right now fitness equipment used by students is housed in a crowded room with less-than-adequate ventilation. Sometimes so many students are trying to use the facility that many must perform their exercises in the adjoining hallway, which is neither private nor safe. Imagine trying to lift weights or do push-ups while others must walk past or around you to get where they are going.
The final set of renovations in the New Richland building would be in one of our science classrooms. Here, a space which was once an elementary classroom would be upgraded with sinks and work stations which would permit more practical teaching and learning. At the same time, a hallway would be added nearby to create an exit from that part of the building to the outdoors. This would allow access to an area where a future greenhouse is planned.
In both of our facilities audiences will greatly appreciate the upgraded facilities for performances and concerts, since seating and sound quality will be vastly improved. Learners will have expanded opportunities and a more comfortable environment, since they will have dehumidified and cooler classrooms, and space to diversify.
I hope you can see the many ways these planned improvements will make our buildings safer, more educationally productive, and more useful to our community residents.
