When Chehalis native James Lintott heard the Chehalis School District planned to name one of its two new elementary schools after him, he thought they were joking.
“It’s overwhelming,” Lintott said. “It’s just an incredible honor and I am so humbled to be associated with such a beautiful new school.”
But on Wednesday, Lintott was in town to do the honors at the grand opening and ribbon cutting at his namesake — James W. Lintott Elementary School. The event was widely attended by the community, who heard speeches from those involved with the school’s creation.
“We are beyond excited for this event,” said principal Bob Hunt. “It’s been a long time coming. One year ago, on our first day of school at Cascade, when I met with the teachers on our first opening day, I said ‘guys, one year from now we will be doing our open staff meeting at our new school.’”
The speeches took place under a giant American flag. Hunt, along with four elementary school students, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
“When you go through those doors, I hope you all recognize that the planning, the design that went into James W. Lintott, was centered around what was best for students, what is best for teachers,” Hunt said during his speech. “To facilitate the environment and the culture that best promotes the successful teaching and learning of preschool students, kindergarten students, first grade students and second grade students.”
Chehalis School Board member Brian Roberts and Chehalis School District Superintendent Ed Rothlin both delivered speeches to the crowd as well.
“It’s kind of a dream come true to come to a community like this that supports the kids and the community like they do,” Rothlin said. “To complete a project like this … it takes quite a team.”
Kris Stamon, who is a project manager with McGranahan Architects, spoke to the vision behind the design of the school.
“The vision is to create a welcoming and safe campus, which fosters a love of learning by inspiring students and cultivating a sense of belonging,” Stamon said. “So that was the vision behind what you see today. We had a long list of goals, some of which included creating places that allow students and teachers to collaborate, explore, be independent, spark curiosity, be healthy and stay connected.”
The speeches concluded with a speech from James W. Lintott, himself. Lintott grew up in Chehalis. He attended Cascade K-3, Olympic 4-8 and graduated from W.F. West High School in 1982.
Lintott earned two bachelor degrees from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Applied Economics and a Juris Doctorate Degree from Stanford Law School. Lintott also co-founded the Freedom Management Group, which helps clients manage their wealth.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you again and thanks for caring about the kids who will walk through these doors,” Lintott said to the crowd. “What this community did for me meant the world to me. This honor today means the world to me. Even more importantly, what you are doing for children now and in the future, will mean the world to them as well.”
Wednesday was Lintott’s second time touring the school.
“It’s beautiful and it’s so child-focused, it’s unbelievable,” Lintott said in a crowd of people waiting to enter the school. “I’ve been through it twice now. I went once when it was under construction and once just today. I saw a number of my old teachers today. It’s spectacular. They haven’t gotten older, and I have. I don’t understand how they did that.”
Lintott only expected to deliver his speech to 20 or 30 people, and said he didn’t expect that hundreds would be in attendance.
“I am just so thankful to everything that the Chehalis community has done for me,” he said.
School at James W. Lintott Elementary starts on Tuesday, Sept. 4. The main change students and parents can expect at the new school will come during dismissal. Parents will drive through the pickup lane, where five parents at a time will receive their children, instead of physically entering the building to sign out their child.
“Overall, I think that it’s very safe and the time, especially once we get used to it all, could be faster for parents as well,” Hunt said.
James W. Lintott Elementary houses special education pre-K and K-2. As of Friday morning, there are currently 684 students enrolled at the school.
“I’m going to talk to the kids about (how) this is a very special time and let them recognize that this is a historical moment,” Hunt said of the first day of school. “They are the first group of students to come into Lintott Elementary and we’re excited to see all of their smiling faces.”
