Lucerne Elementary’s new kindergarten building offers students and teachers classrooms of their own
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LUCERNE, Calif. – Despite the challenges of last year, Lucerne Elementary School has completed a major construction project that is giving kindergarten students and teachers classrooms built just for them.
The school’s brand new kindergarten building – housing two spacious classrooms – is located on the north side of the campus near the administration office, in a spot where two portables previously stood.
The new classrooms are each approximately 1,115 square feet. They include dedicated bathrooms, a work/storage room and exterior storage, for a total combined size of 2,688 square feet, said Superintendent-Principal Mike Brown.
The rooms have vaulted ceilings with a set of small windows set up high to allow in more natural light. They also feature small, triangular-shaped desks that can be pushed together for collaborative learning. However, for the time being, the children need to remain spaced apart.
Brown said the school broke ground on the buildings during spring break in 2020. That was about the time the pandemic led to the shutdowns of schools and the rest of the county.
Construction continued through the rest of 2020. Brown said the final walkthrough on the building took place over winter break and students and their teachers began classes in the new classrooms on Feb. 1.
The new building was paid for by a $1.2 million Full Day Kindergarten grant the school received from the California Department of Education to help establish facilities to support full-day kindergarten, Brown said.
Brown said Lucerne Elementary is preparing to go to full-day kindergarten in the 2021-22 school year.
He said the school has 32 kindergarteners and four transitional kindergarten students, and a total of 275 students across all grades, up through eighth.
Lucerne Elementary, like Upper Lake Unified, began the school year in August in a “hybrid” schooling model that allowed for in-person instruction, as Lake County News has reported.
Today, 78 percent of the school’s students are on campus, according to school records.
There is more construction to take place, funded by the $4 million Measure A bond voters approved in November 2016.
Brown said the district is waiting for the Division of the State Architect – which provides design and construction oversight for kindergarten through 12th grade schools, as well as community state-owned or leased facilities – to approve the next building.
The goal is to start construction on June 1 in order for it to be finished in the early fall, Brown said.
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