Finished Product
What will the new Community look like? Will it be bigger? Have more classrooms? More space? For the most part the footprint of Community and the Stanford Centre will remain the same, but the way the space is used will be totally different.
After the remodel, visitors will see the same school but with a new look. The school will have many changes done to it. Grand Forks Public Schools superintendent, Dr. Larry P. Nybladh says, “If necessary, we can add on to the building after these renovations are done. However, I think once the school opens next fall the people of the community will but pleased with how the school turns out.”
Changes abound at Community. The plans to update the school have been in the works for a number of years, since 2008 when Nybladh became the superintendent.
The renovations began with some ideas then eventually turned into plans, with other interested parties adding their input into them. By the end of the process of many meetings, the contractors went through dozens of revisions before deciding upon the final plan.
Dr. Nybladh commented on the process. “I’m not completely sure how many, but I do know there were dozens of plans and blueprints reviewed before one was agreed upon. Everyone in the building comes together and discusses the needs and wants of the school and figures things out from there.”
Some of the changes to Community come in relocating classrooms and programs. The former Adult Learning Center wing of the building will be the new FACS and business education classroom. The art classroom will be moved to the south wing of the school where the library is now. Other configurations include creating a library and two additional classrooms next to the art room.
As for the north wing of the school the two classrooms and the special education office will be made into an adult transitions classroom and an adult learning classroom. An adult ELL classroom will be put where the commons is now. So the commons and the kitchen will be moving over a bit. The room currently by the kitchen will be completely taken out and used to expand the commons and kitchen.
Another bonus to this remodel will be the addition of a roomy special education room and a second English classroom both of which will be next to the current office area. The science room will have a lab and staff will get a lounge. All in all, there are a bundle of changes.
These are the structural changes but what about appearance? Will there be any changes there? According to administrative assistant Lu Burris, there will be plenty. “Our newly remodeled school will have a classic and clean environment. It’ll look more like a school instead of the old dorms for the school for the blind.
"The classrooms will, for once, be equal in size with built-in storage space. In every room, three of the walls will be painted a neutral color and the fourth wall will be a different color. The classrooms will be very colorful with new lighting and new carpet.”
By the way those plans make it sound, the new school will look really nice when it’s all done. But beware, it’s going to get ugly around here before it gets pretty.
by Leanne Ness