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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
School Daze: Willow Glen Middle School students might not even recognize their old school in its current state.
Back to School Labor Pains
School construction won't delay students' return in September
By Jessica Lyons
It's a 13-year-old's dream come true. The principal's office at Willow Glen Middle School has been torn apart. It's dark, the ceiling's gone, a web of electrical wires hangs halfway to the ground, and dust and rubble cover the floor. But it doesn't mean an endless summer for Willow Glen kids.
It's construction time at Willow Glen Middle School--and throughout San Jose Unified School District. When Willow Glen Middle School students return to school on Sept. 1, the administration office will be redone, and the trenches will be refilled, but contractors and construction workers will still be a campus presence. Completion won't happen until Aug. 25, 2000. Next year, the school will be as good as new, says Principal Lois Allen. All the classrooms will have been gutted and rewired, sporting new paint and furniture. Electricity will be flowing, and this time around air conditioning will pump through the school.
"Just like I've been telling my staff, trying to get them totally prepared for this year-and-a-half adventure we are going to be experiencing, it's kind of like giving birth to a baby," Allen says. "The process is difficult and painful, but the outcome is worth it."
The construction is part of San Jose Unified's modernization project--a $43,852,886 plan to improve the district's schools.
Willow Glen Middle School's modernization includes constructing 11 new portable classrooms, remodeling existing classrooms, building new bathrooms, replacing damaged roofs, installing heat and air-conditioning units and new electrical conduit and gas lines, installing wheelchair ramps and lifts, and installing new theater seating. The classrooms and office buildings will also be repainted inside and out.
The work is being done over five "sequences," so that all of the classes are not displaced at the same time.
The middle school's construction--totaling $5,185,134--will also render the classrooms technology-ready, says John Cimino, manager of school construction and maintenance for the district.
"We're upgrading and adding more electrical outlets, not only to meet the technology needs of today, but to meet the potential needs of the future," Cimino says. "The students are going to have a new, fresh environment to support the technology needs of 1999 to 2020."
All of San Jose Unified's Willow Glen schools are getting some kind of face lift, thanks to state funds. Work on Willow Glen High will begin in June 2000. Lincoln High will follow suit at the end of 2000.
Current construction work around the Glen is as follows:
* River Glen Elementary--The old Broadway High building is being refurbished to house the district Spanish immersion program. A new two-story classroom building will also be built. Designs have been completed and a cost estimate is being prepared. Construction is scheduled to start in August 1999 and end in August 2000.
* Broadway High--An environmental impact study is under way as the district prepares to move Broadway to the John Muir Middle School campus. Construction is scheduled to start in October 1999 and end in January 2000.
* Canoas Elementary--Construction on a new two-story classroom building is expected to start in the next couple of weeks. The school will be open for students in September 2000.
* Booksin and Schallenberger schools--Nearly finished, construction should be a thing of the past when students return in September. Work completed includes rewiring the electrical systems, asbestos abatement, installing new heating and air conditioning systems, building new roofs, bathrooms and floors, and painting the interior and exterior of the buildings. New furniture has also been ordered.
* Willow Glen Elementary--Most of the major construction is scheduled for summer 2000. However, two old portables have been demolished and asphalt pads have been poured for eight new portables.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
