Centralia School District Construction Enters Home Stretch

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The approaching end of the 2018-19 school year in Centralia also marks the final days of an era of public education for the Hub City.

Students at two elementary schools — Fords Prairie and Jefferson Lincoln — will inhabit brand new buildings come fall. At the same time, pupils of Centralia High School will move into the first of two phases of a floor-to-ceiling remodel of the grounds, which includes the majority of the academic space, library and some athletic facilities.

Friday, Centralia School District officials joined supervisors from FORMA Construction and OAC Services to lead local leaders on tours of the construction sites. Progress was evident at all three locations, as spaces that displayed dirt and rebar during the last tour in December now resemble the modern learning facilities they were designed to be.

“We’re going to walk across a transformative threshold when we move into our building in August,” Fords Prairie Principal Dave Roberts said. “We have so many feelings as a staff that we don’t know how to feel. I stand in awe of the miracle of the whole community, the trust of the community and what this will mean to our students.”

Both elementary schools appeared closer to completion Friday than phase one of the high school remodel, which isn’t far behind. All are on schedule for completion ahead of the 2019-20 academic year, according to Ed Petersen, communications and public relations coordinator for the school district. Voters approved a $74 bond measure in 2017 to fund all three projects.

At the high school, classrooms have been expanded to about 850 square feet from their old footprint of about 720 square feet. An expanded entryway with raised ceilings and added windows will also feature increased security features such as a secondary doorway that will be locked during the school day. The two elementary schools will have similar setups that are designed to funnel visitors through the main office.



Phase two of the high school remodel is scheduled to begin this summer, as soon as students and staff wrap up the current school year.

Six of the eight classrooms in the science wing of the high school will be designated for STEM use. At each of the elementary schools, a STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — workspace will have exposed piping and ductwork color-coded to help students learn about the inner workings of their buildings.

All three schools will contain elements of their respective roots, either incorporated into the design or repurposed for continued use. The doors of the original steam boiler at Fords Prairie Elementary are installed on the wall outside the STEM room there. The doors will open to show an interactive display containing information about the original school building.

At Jefferson Lincoln, principal Kelli DeMonte said high school students are working to turn wood from trees taken down from outside her building into “buddy” benches for the playground. A high-backed bench already in the foyer was made using the same wood. The original sign from outside the school now hangs in the library. It will soon be surrounded by photographs of alumni standing next to the sign outside the old school building.

“The buddy benches will be there for students who are looking for someone to play with, or who need to problem-solve and could use help from classmates,” DeMonte said. “It was really important to us to be able to incorporate (the trees) into our new design.”