Parents are looking forward to better learning environments for their children and understand the benefits of making these investments now. These are a few of their comments about how the Long Range Facilities Plan is creating healthier and stronger school system for our community now and well into the future.
‘I was shocked at the condition of the school’
My son started kindergarten this past fall at Laura MacArthur, and from the moment that I set foot inside the building I was shocked at the condition of the school. I am glad that my son will only have to spend one more year in the current school before the new Laura MacArthur School is built. This is something that this school district needs. Our schools are in bad shape. Maintenance has been pushed aside for many years so that we could keep classes small and maintain programs. In hindsight that was not a good decision.
We are now faced with the task of providing safe places for our students to learn. Our students will also have more space to learn. If you walk through some of the schools in our district you will see students packing the hallways and any other place they can find, so that they can participate in cooperative learning, and other group projects. Most of the new building plans call for areas set aside for this type of learning.
Students, staff and administration are excited about the possibilities that these new buildings will provide for indoor and outdoor learning environments. Things like water gardens, gardens, composting and other areas of conservation have been discussed, as well as other sustainable resources like solar energy being incorporated into the school grounds. All of the new buildings will focus on using renewable or recycled materials, which means lots of natural wood work. And they will be looking to buy as much of the materials from local suppliers as possible, steel from the Iron Range, locally produced lumber and other building supplies. Not to mention the jobs that this will provide to the community and surrounding areas.
This project is not about building monuments to the existing school board as some have suggested. It is about providing safe, efficient and engaging environments for our children to learn. I am excited to see the progress that has been made and I am encouraged about what is yet to come.
David Westerberg
Member of the Site Design team and the PTA for Laura MacArthur
and parent of a Laura MacArthur student
‘An investment in our children’
The Duluth Public School system already has top-notch teachers, academics and programs, so why not have facilities to match? Remember, this is an investment — an investment in our children.
Bob Nygaard
Duluth
‘There has been a great deal of excitement among the parents’
We’re proud Lester Park parents. Proud of our kids and proud of our school.
Like many other parents, we volunteer quite a bit in our children’s classrooms. We get to know the kids, the teachers, the staff, and the building. We really get to know the limitations of a 90 year old building. Working with small groups is always a challenge as there are few extra rooms to use and the hallways are always busy with passing classes. Working within the rooms isn’t an option as the classrooms are all filled to capacity with desks and bookcases and children. Our 2nd grader has 31 kids in her class and our 5th grader has had 30 kids in his class for the past two years. Because the operating levy only passed at the current level – not enough to lower class sizes – we are so thankful to be getting a new building with rooms that will accommodate classes as large as they are going to have to be.
When we first heard about the Long Range Facilities Plan we were very skeptical as we’d heard our share of plans floated about from previous administrations. Truthfully, we’d grown weary of the last minute decision making of some of our school boards. We found this process different. The board and the design teams came to us, the parents, and presented us with options. They sent us information to look over. They presented everything on websites and at school and community meetings. We became part of the process. Still we had that lingering doubt that the board would back away from any decision at the last minute. It never seemed as if building a new Lester Park was causing much concern. But that three high school thing…again that seemed like the sticking point.
I went to East High school. I have friends that went to Central. I understand loyalty to a school. However, I also understand economics. One of the schools had to close. The three option choices and the discussion surrounding those choices made it clear that the Red option, closing Central, made the most sense. I was at the board meeting when they took the vote on the Red Plan implementation. The members of that board showed a courage I had not seen in previous boards. They actually voted to set Duluth on a predetermined, well-planned course for the future.
Since that day there has been a great deal of excitement among the parents. We were, along with several other parents, offered the opportunity to participate in the school design committee. This was a great chance to work with the professionals within the district and the architects who were drawing up the plans. Like the Long Range planning process, this was another very open opportunity to give and receive information about the new school. I think that the plan that we, as a group, came up with for the new Lester Park will be great for educating the kids of this new century.
Dave and Beth Chelseth