Judith A. Resnik CLC to open in January for students
By Kathleen Folkerth
WEST AKRON — It won’t be long before school bells ring again on North Meadowcroft Drive.
Completion of the new Judith A. Resnik Community Learning Center (CLC) is slated for December, according to Akron Public Schools (APS) officials, with classes set to begin at the building Jan. 8, the first day of school after winter break.
“Everyone is working toward that,” said Fred Herr, an APS architect who is serving as liaison between the district and Hasenstab Architects, designers of the building. “It’s realistic.”
The new school replaces Fairlawn
Elementary School, whose
students began their second year of school at the district’s
“swing space,” the Central Learning Center
at 400 W. Market St., Aug. 30. The Resnik CLC will be
the first project to be completed
of the 15-year, $800 million joint effort between APS
and the city of Akron to rebuild or remodel all the
district’s schools. The Ohio School Facilities
Commission is financing 59 percent of the costs, while
the APS is responsible for
41 percent. In May 2003, the residents of Akron overwhelmingly
approved a 30-year, .25 percent income tax increase
to fulfill Akron’s share.
Community planning meetings held
prior to the Resnik CLC construction had originally
targeted a spring 2007 completion date, but Herr said
RKPS, the construction management company overseeing
the project, moved the timetable up.
The earlier than anticipated
move of the Fairlawn students to their new school will
allow students from Glover Elementary School to move
into the Central Learning Center after the Fairlawn
students go to their new school, Herr said.
The district also didn’t
like the idea of having the new school ready but vacant
for a few months until the start of the 2007-08 school
year.
“We didn’t want to
have this brand-new building just sitting there,”
Herr said.
While Herr said the timetable
is tight, he said last winter’s mild weather helped
keep workers on the site with no delays.
“If we had had a harsh
winter, we would have been struggling now,” he
said.
During the past few weeks, crews
were on the site laying concrete walkways outside while
inside workers were beginning to paint some rooms.
The building is the first new
APS building in about 30 years and has been built to
include many modern features while retaining a look
that fits in with the neighborhood, Herr said.
The school’s main entrance
is in the center, with west and east wings branching
off from there. The west wing will house kindergarten
through second grade, while third through fifth grade
will be in the east wing.
The main entrance will have doors
that lock after school begins, and visitors will ring
a buzzer for admittance. A window from the main office
to that area allows school personnel to see who it is
they are letting into the building.
After entering, visitors will
see the school’s media center, which was getting
its first coats of plum and tan paint last week.
“We wanted the community
to have the idea that this is a place of learning,”
Herr said as to why the library is front and center.
Behind the media center are a
separate cafeteria and gymnasium, which share a stage
that can be opened for use on either side.
“It offers a lot of flexibility,”
Herr said.
The student restrooms feature
stalls in a private area in the back, but the sink areas
are open for viewing. Herr said teachers requested that
so children could be more closely monitored.
Throughout the building windows
are equipped with mini blinds sandwiched between two
panes of glass. And every classroom will have a retractable
screen with a ceiling projector, on which the teacher’s
computer screen can be displayed for presentations.
Rooms also will include lockers
for all students.
The design of each classroom
is unique. Corner rooms have glass block windows, while
others have arched windows and higher ceilings.
“No two rooms are alike,”
Herr said.
The three kindergarten rooms
are larger, and each has its own bathroom. All other
rooms will be fitted with a sink that has a water fountain
attachment.
Outside the building, the new
playground will be installed on the west side. Herr
said the area should start taking shape in September
with a new composite play structure and swings.
Parking for employees will be
on the east side and in the rear of the building. Directly
in front of the building will be a loop to accommodate
drop off and pick up. Some short-term parking will be
in that area as well for visitors.
North Meadowcroft Drive, which
had previously cut through the school property and has
two residences at the other end, has been shortened
at the loop. The area where the road was will be dug
up and grass planted, Herr said. The road remains at
the opposite end so the two residences have access to
West Market Street.
At the entrance to the school
side of North Meadowcroft, at Fairlawn-West United Church
of Christ, the city of Akron will install a new traffic
light to accommodate the new two-way entry into the
school. Herr said the light will be put up this fall
and begin operating when school begins at the new building.
West Akron students also will
see completion of the Helen Arnold CLC in about a year,
according to APS officials. The school, being built
at Vernon Odom Boulevard and Rhodes Avenue, is a new
school that will absorb students from several other
elementary schools, including some from Fairlawn/Resnik.
According to John George, APS
architect overseeing the project, the Arnold CLC is
estimated to be ready midway through the 2007-08 school
year.
“We still have a long way
to go,” George said.
The Resnik CLC is named for Judith
Resnik, the Akron-born astronaut who died in the 1986
Challenger space shuttle explosion. Resnik attended
Fairlawn Elementary School as a child.
The Arnold CLC is named for Helen
Arnold, the first black woman to serve
on the Akron Public Schools Board of Education.
For more information on the school
building project, go to www.imagineakron
schools.com.
Arches are a common architectural
element used on the new Judith A. Resnik Community Learning
Center, which will open its doors in January.
Fred Herr, an architect with
the Akron Public Schools, points out the permanent cabinetry
in one classroom. Photos:
Ken Crisafi
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