Elementary schools unveiled

Joe Biegler’s 34-year career at Lidgerwood Elementary School came full circle last week.

The fifth-grade teacher sat surrounded by unpacked cardboard boxes inside his classroom. Lidgerwood is one of three new Spokane elementary schools opening for the start of classes on Tuesday. “I came to Lidgerwood in 1972, after a triple-levy failure and the district closed elementary schools,” Biegler said. “It’s just so exciting to see how far the district has come.”

Lidgerwood, Ridgeview and Lincoln Heights elementary schools were reconstructed with a $165 million capital projects bond approved by voters in 2003.

Though they are still putting on the finishing touches, construction crews turned the schools over to the district last month, and last week school board members and some district administrators got their first peek at the new state-of-the-art buildings.

“I remember telling the architects, when the kids walk into the school, I want them to feel it’s a fun place,” said Greg Brown, director of capital projects. “I think we’ve accomplished that.”

The total cost for all three buildings was $21.6 million. And according to school officials, the structures are worth every penny.

The schools are architecturally different but have many of the same features.

The multistory red brick buildings feature state-of-the-art technology, including wireless capabilities and a digital overhead projector for every classroom; adult-size gymnasiums; and a cafeteria or multipurpose room with a music stage.

In the previous schools, the gym was the cafeteria.

All three schools have energy-efficient traits, with natural lighting features including floor-to-ceiling windows and light shelves above classroom windows that draw in sunlight.

Each has a community room or art room inside the front entrance. Varying groups, such as neighborhood councils, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, can use the rooms in the evening.

“The community didn’t want a building that closes down at 3:30 p.m. that nobody can use,” said Mark Anderson, associate superintendent for school support services. “It’s nice for the neighborhood to have a place they can go.”

Lincoln Heights

When teacher Griffith Stokes walked into his new classroom at Lincoln Heights for the first time, the lights flickered on before he reached the switch.

“It was kind of space-age,” Stokes said.

The lights operate on a sensor, turning off when nobody is in the room to conserve energy. The feature is standard in all the new elementary schools, but Lincoln Heights has a few more environmentally friendly elements.

The school was the only one of the three new buildings to receive a state grant through the U.S. Green Building Council. It was also the most expensive at $8.1 million.

Many of the countertops, benches, overhead beams and treads on the stairs were made with recycled wood from the original building, glued together and laminated. The wainscoting lining the walls was made from recycled wheat board.

Waterless urinals were installed in boy’s bathrooms, each conserving more than 40,000 gallons of water per year.

“We did some early cost estimates, and we figure this building will be about 30 percent more energy efficient than what the Washington energy code requires,” said John Mannix, executive director of facilities and planning. “Over time, that’s going to be significant savings.”

Lidgerwood

This school has a new address to go with the new building. The old entrance to the school was impossible to find, staff said.

“Somebody would always call and say ‘Where is your front door?’ ” said Principal Valorie Chadwick.

There’s no mistaking the new entrance to the school, with three concrete pillars and three stories of windows.

A large, modern clock stands in a long hallway that is three stories tall and made mostly of windows.

“The light is so impressive,” Chadwick said. “You can literally be in an office in the center of the building and you still get natural light.”

Like Lincoln Heights, the classrooms are all on the south side of the building, facing the sun.

The structure was also made with many recycled materials and furnishings. The staff rescued a couch and love seat from the old school library and had them reupholstered for the break room.

The library has a glass atrium that faces Lidgerwood Street and the school entrance, with new overstuffed chairs inviting kids to curl up with a good book.

“The librarians here feel sorry for the other two (new schools),” Anderson said.

Ridgeview

When students at Ridgeview return next week, they will literally be able to ring in the new school year.

The new school features a bell tower over the entrance, complete with a traditional school bell made in the Netherlands.

“During the design phase, we asked what they thought of when they thought of school, and they said a school bell,” said Principal Kathy Williams. A parents group raised the funds for the bell, which is inscribed with a Ridgeview crest.

The new school has a library twice the size of the old one, with room for computers. The color scheme is marked with a rainbow of colors. The stairs leading to the second floor are each a different color.

At each end of the second-floor hallway, floor-to-ceiling windows bring in light and offer a view of the surrounding neighborhoods and playfields.

The school has classrooms on both the north and south, separated by a large hallway.

“Two adults couldn’t walk down the hallway at the old school,” said Superintendent Brian Benzel.

From some classrooms and offices, there is a view of the Five Mile Prairie to the north.

“There is definitely an excitement and a buzz in the community, even for those who don’t have children,” Williams said. “They can’t wait to get in here and see what we’ve done.”