As students walked out of school May 25, construction crews piled in. Now as students return, the ongoing construction projects continue behind plastic film and cardboard doors.

The classrooms that are currently being worked on are planned to be completed by Thanksgiving break. The classroom renovations, according to Mr. Sean Begley, director of operations, is a part of administration’s plan to create a flexible and updated learning environment.

“I always look at my job as how I can get hurdles out of the way for a principal and a teacher so they can go in and provide the best educational experience to the students,” Mr. Begley said. “There are obviously constraints where you can’t have everything, but having an environment where students can collaborate was a main focus.”

Classrooms are being updated by:

• Introducing new, mobile desks for teachers and students
• Installing Promethean boards instead of projectors in all classrooms
• Changing all lights to LED lights
• Installing dimmers for the lights
• Repainting the walls
• Replacing the old carpet with new tile to help with cleaning and air quality
• Installing new HVAC systems to improve air quality and heating and cooling
• The HVAC systems, starting with the classrooms that were renovated over the summer, are going to be replaced in each room after Thanksgiving break. Administration is planning to have all the classrooms done by winter break.

Effects of construction on staff:

• Some teachers have to move rooms as construction crew update their classrooms.
• “We still don’t know exactly when I’m going to be booted from this room,” Mr. Ben Boruff, English teacher, said. “We don’t know exactly when construction is going to be done. There’s a lot of confused students, too. There’s just a lot of question marks that we have, and that’s a little bit frustrating.”
• “The room is not terrible, but it’s just not my room,” Mr. Ryan Popa, business teacher, said. “I just don’t feel at home here. My other room felt like home. So I guess I feel like I’m in someone else’s house.”

Effects of construction on students:

• Blocked off hallways in the North cause heavier hallway traffic.
• “The hallways are so annoying this year,” Annabelle Spicer, senior, said. “I literally get stopped in the middle of the hallway, like standing still. I’ve gotten pushed and shoved. I’m fighting for my life in there.”
• “I am glad that they are improving the school, but I wish they would have finished it before the school year started,” Kai Washington, senior, said.

Administration:

• According to Mr. Begley, construction could not be finished over the summer because the HVAC systems are not coming in until this month.
• Looking forward to upcoming years, Mr. Begley hopes to finish the rest of the North classrooms, along with starting some new projects such as renovating the auditorium.