Extreme Makeover: School Edition (06-02-08)

If you have been in the grade school during the last two weeks, you may have wondered if you had accidentally wondered onto the set of Extreme Makeover – School Edition.

In addition to the usual room cleaning, visitors to the elementary would find our summer staff, myself included, engaged in various renovation projects. From painting and building shelving, to putting up sheetrock, to installing new sinks and cabinets, to hanging some new ceilings, our summer is packed with activity.

We are implementing a new floor plan. We are moving the kindergarten and first grade to the main hallway, and moving third, fourth and fifth grade to the north wing. The wheels for these changes began to turn last fall, when we discussed the possibility of keeping the fifth grade at the grade school. In order to make room for two additional classrooms, we began looking at the entire layout of the elementary facility.

That’s when I came up with the idea of moving the fifth grade to the lower hall of the north wing and moving our youngest students to main hallway, closer to the cafeteria, gym, art room and music room. Not only does this reduce the amount of travel distance for the kids with the littlest legs, but I also wanted to give the fifth grade a sense of autonomy by providing them with their own hallway and their own entrance into the school.

At first, I admit that I did not fully comprehend what I was proposing. Until this year, I have been mainly a 7-12 guy. I switched rooms both as a teacher for Wheatland and Inman, and neither experience seemed very extreme, even though I had what I thought was quite a lot of stuff to move.

This year, I have quickly learned that there is no comparison between high school and elementary. Not only do the teachers of the younger grades generally have more teaching supplies (manipulatives, bulletin board decorations, teaching aides, books, games and just more stuff - much of which the teachers purchased with their own money) but primary grade teachers need so much more in the rooms they use.

First, I learned that I was moving teachers from rooms with sinks to rooms without sinks. Sinks are used by the little kids for everything from washing hands to the various projects they complete every year. So in order for the switch to work, new sinks would have to be installed for the new kindergarten and first grade rooms. One of the benefits of the new floor plan is that now almost all rooms will have sinks.

Next, I discovered that the younger grades rely much more on bulletin boards than on white boards. The teachers fill almost every inch of free wall space with hanging instructional displays.

Then, there is the most obvious difference between the classrooms for younger and older students: cubbies versus lockers. It never occurred to me just how much storage exists in an elementary classroom. Without lockers, the students have designated shelf and cubby space for papers, projects and all their stuff.

So, throughout the spring, and now into summer, I am learning just how dynamic and complex an elementary classroom really is. It is so much more than a space for students to assemble. Our elementary classrooms are each an educational labratory, each packed full with everything the students needs to learn about English, Math, Science, Social Studies and so much more.

The new floor plan did not take shape overnight, and the hundreds of decisions involved were not made alone. After many meetings and countless discussions, I was thrilled by the response of the teachers. Initially, I may have not understood the full difficulty of rearranging these amazing educational spaces, but I have found all sorts of help to make the necessary changes. Teachers have volunteered to give up some of their summer to help paint, move, and set up their new rooms. Our custodial staff has been superb in how they have risen to the challenge, and our superintendent and school board have been completely supportive in the efforts to improve our school.

More than ever, I am in awe of our veteran staff and their deep commitment to providing the best possible education for our students. We are all excited at this great opportunity to renovate and “make-over” many of the grade school classrooms.