The Dust Clears Students And Teachers Excited About Renovations At North Side High Schools

Gone are the whirring drills, the pounding hammers, the fire alarms ringing randomly throughout the day.

Instead of plumes of dust billowing down the hallways, now there are students walking to English. Instead of the noise and confusion that come with mixing construction crews with students, Rogers and North Central high schools are back to just the regular noise and confusion of high school.

Both North Side schools recently underwent construction and restoration projects totalling about $10 million. And now that students, teachers and administrators have had a chance to spend some time in the new classrooms and gyms, the consensus is: bravo.

“I like it all a lot,” said Rogers senior Heather Kaesemeyer.

The first phase of Rogers’ $5.35 million project brought replacement of the 1933 gymnasium and locker rooms. The second phase added six new classrooms above the locker rooms, remodeled the outside courtyards, renovated offices and restored the 1932 auditorium.

“It’s really been restored to the grandeur it had in 1933,” district capital projects director Ned Hammond said of the auditorium. “It’s beautiful. It’s something the community can really be proud of.”

Windows that had been blackened since World War II now welcome streams of natural light. There’s a new sound system, cushy seats, and - for the first time in years - a usable balcony.

“It’s so much nicer,” said Kaesemeyer, the school’s ASB president. “The seats are comfortable, and the lighting is so much better. It makes a big difference.”

Two new outdoor courtyards provide a place for students to hang out during lunch, while expanded commons areas reduce crowding between classes.

“The courtyards and commons areas were really hidden gems,” said Butch Slaughter, construction management specialist for the district. “No one quite realized what a great visual impact they’d have until they were completed.”

The construction inspired others to get involved as well. Alumnus Lyle Olmstead and others from the class of 1950 and ‘51, have been spending their own time fixing up another courtyard outside the cafeteria.

Where once-dead and dying grasses stood strewn with construction dust and remnants, there is now a clean, concrete patio. Still to come are tables, benches and landscaping.

“Hopefully we’ll set a precedent for other classes,” Olmstead said. “But we don’t want them to outdo us.”

There were smaller fixes, too, like new restroom fixtures and tiles, a new floor for the old gym, and a good scrubbing of the hallway floors. It all helps create a stronger sense of pride in the Pirates, officials said.

“I see a lot less litter,” said Assistant Principal Gwen Harris. “Kids want to take care of it.”

“I like that it feels like a new school, but it’s still the same,” added sophomore Jodi Schock.

All that’s left are some small details - things like installing a cover for the orchestra pit and balancing the heating/cooling system - which should be done in time for the Oct. 18 dedication.

At North Central, the first phase of construction took place during the end of last school year. At that time, workers expanded the library and remodeled the locker rooms for about $300,000.

The $3.3 million phase 2 created a 25,000-square-foot practice gym with a weight training room, padded multipurpose room, health room and four new science classrooms.

“It really opens up opportunities to educate kids,” said Assistant Principal Ed Fisher. “Health classes were held in English classrooms before. Now they have space to learn about health, then they can go downstairs and do it. It will really help them understand why they’re doing what they’re doing.”

Still to come at North Central are landscaping, fencing and refurbishing the tennis courts. Fisher said an official dedication date has not been set because they want to make sure everything is finished. He suspects the dedication will be in mid-October.

Of everything the new construction has brought North Central, it seems everyone is excited about something a little different.

For Randy James, it’s the science classrooms.

“We’ve gone from five true science classrooms to having nine,” said the science department head. “Our teachers are in functional rooms that are larger and quieter, clean and wired to meet our dream of eventually having computers all around the rooms to collect real-time data.”

For now, two labs will have complete setups of nine computers.

Science teachers who used to have to prep for a lesson, load things onto a cart and push it to a different room, now have a place to call their own. Health teachers, who used to have to move each class period, also are thrilled to have their own classroom. The new gym gives freshman basketball players a place to practice on campus - the first time they’ve been able to do so since the building opened, Fisher said. But even with the expansion, NC’s gymnastics team will have to practice off campus at the Spokane Junior Academy, he added.

For Fisher, the most exciting part of the new construction was when the students returned to class.

“Where I had heard hammers and saws for so long, I finally heard students’ feet pounding up the stairs, excited to go to the new science classrooms,” he remembered. “I thought, `This is why I do this. This is what it’s all about.”’