CITY OF TONAWANDA, (WKBW) — It’s rare for a school district to build a brand new school, but that's what happened in the Tonawanda City School District.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be standing before you,” Timothy Oldenburg, superintendent, Tonawanda City School District. “This capital project, the scope, and the depth of work that was done here is such an incredible improvement, and arguably one of the most impressive school capital projects in our region and perhaps the state in decades.”
On Tuesday the ribbon was cut for the new Tonawanda Elementary School and it’s a positive result of school consolidation.
“One, two, three,” changed Oldenburg, as he cut the ribbon with other school and local leaders marking the start of a new high-tech school building.
The consolidation of three Tonawanda City Schools, Mullen, Riverview, and Fletcher elementary schools. A massive upgrade was conducted at the Fletcher building transforming it into this state-of-the-art school, now called Tonawanda Elementary School.
“A building like this adds so much not just to the instructional program and the services that are being provided to students each and every day, but also the safety and security so that quality instruction and positive achievement and learning can occur,” explained Superintendent Oldenburg.
The superintendent says this more than $53-million project helps the district ensure school families it's providing new safety measures.
There are fewer entrance doors and classrooms now have doors and windows that provide more privacy for safety.
“Our rooms are designed with doors and windows, that are to code, but are positioned appropriately, so should a situation occur when students and staff need to take a protective stance that there's space in the room that's private and not seen from the hallway so that they can be in a position to follow these protocols that are recommended and are of best practice,” described Oldenburg. “We’ve installed one-touch lockdown buttons in the hallway so anyone in the building at any time should they see, something should they hear something that is of high concern can an issue in the building into a protective situation.”
“And finding out the school was going to have all those safety measures put in place was absolutely amazing, and really, really shocking,” reflected Alicia Saunders, school parent.
Saunders tells me her biggest concern was safety where her 9-year-old son Bryce attends.
“This place is massive. I can't wait to explore it,” declared Bryce Saunders, student.
Bryce will be among 750 students from universal pre-k through grade five who will be attending this brand-new school.
“I feel that everything about the building is exciting. It's new. It’s fresh. The students will love it. The space that we have here, the amenities that we have. It's incredible,” described Lisa Dodge, 3rd grade teacher.
Dodge tells me the building is amazing and its high-tech features should enhance a student’s learning.
“The steam lab is right across the hall -- that's all brand new with a hydroponics feature that we never had before, so things that they maybe have never seen. They get to see this year for the first time,” Dodge noted.
Along the hallway of the first floor of the brand-new school building, the Erie Canal is outlined from the Hudson to Niagara Falls leading into some very modern classrooms.
The school project is touted as the largest investment in the district's history.
Students will get a peak at the new building Wednesday when they are welcome to drop off their supplies, but their first day back to school for a new school year is September 6th.
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