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Every day the school has something new and different going on. There is construction all over the building, but a majority of the school is left in the dark about what is actually taking place. It’s time to figure out what is behind the closed doors and gates.
“Well, there’s a lot of projects that get done in phases,” Says Jay Vesperman. The school has plenty of projects going on at the time, including a new cafeteria, band/choir room, and counseling office.
“The old band and choir room is to be renovated into classrooms, the current graphics room is being renovated into classrooms and an athletic director’s office,” said Vesperman. There will be a new set of bathrooms that will be finished right before the next school year starts as well as there are old classrooms that will be turned into a larger counseling area closer to the main office.
“The C and D hallway area still needs to be renovated with new lighting, ceiling tiles, sprinkler system, HVAC, and PA system” according to Vesperman. It’s not just classrooms and additions that are under construction. The whole building is undergoing renovations so everything is fresh and new, not just the additions.
The construction will continue throughout the summer and a little bit into the school year. As stated here, “There’s still gonna be minor things that need to be finished up at the beginning of next school year.”, Vesperman stated. Most of the work must get done over the summer so there isn’t any interference with the addition of 400 more students and the overall quality of education.
Since the construction continued through the school year teachers had to be placed in temporary classrooms. As stated here, “We’ve renovated 35 classrooms during this school year alone with kids and teachers having to move into a swing room and back” says Vesperman.
A concern with the swing rooms was how the teachers would have to adapt to a temporary teaching environment, so here is some personal feedback from teachers who have experienced the swing rooms and real room renovations.
English teacher, Ms Smith says “I think that the construction is teaching everyone a good lesson in “going with the flow.” Yes, there are some days when our normal schedule is interrupted, and we have to be flexible, but we are all also seeing the benefits as new renovations come in. I think that once everything has settled, we will all be appreciative of the benefits for our learning environment.”
Another teacher, Mrs. Kerns says, “I like the room—it feels crisp and new, and I like that the lights are dimmable.”. Teachers seem to be adapting and enjoying the new renovations despite the stress of changing environments.
“Overall we are ahead of schedule and great progress has been made on a lot of projects”, Vesperman says. It seems like things are going smoothly and are on course to completion thanks to Jay Vesperman and the construction crew. Next year, Woodhaven High School will be practically brand new.
