“I’m superexcited to close this chapter and get my kids into one building next year,” said Bobbi Hite, Crestline’s principal.
Hite stood in the former HP cafeteria that will become the school cafeteria in September. In the hallways, workers with long-handled rollers were applying a fresh coat of paint.
How is a former high-tech office space that housed 3,500 cubicles being converted to a school? It’s not as enormous a transformation as one would expect.
“The biggest challenge was finding a space that could accommodate the library, playfield, cafeteria and P.E. space,” said Susan Steinbrenner, the district’s director of facilities.
In addition to being the least expensive option, the HP space met all of the essential requirements. The cafeteria and kitchen will need little to no modification. The large cafeteria, with room-darkening blinds and a ceiling projector, can double as meeting space for school assemblies and evening events.
The restrooms are adequate and won’t have to be modified by installing smaller toilets for kindergartners. The children are accustomed to using standard toilets at home, Steinbrenner said.
The former loading dock will become the gym.
A large central space will become the school library, stocked with books donated after the fire and new books.
The band room and music room will be separated from other classrooms to provide a sound buffer.
The former HP conference room will become the school’s professional development conference room and will double as a quiet place for students to work.
Because the space has very high ceilings, the temporary classroom walls are 10 feet high and open at the top.
A portion of the front parking lot will host tetherball, foursquare and other games. New playground equipment will be installed in a field in front of the temporary school and moved to the new school the next year.
Equipping a school
Some furnishings for the temporary school have been donated. Sharp Corporation donated bookcases and acoustic panels, plus furniture for the school offices. SEH America donated carpets for the four kindergarten classrooms.
Where: Former Hewlett-Packard campus now owned by SEH America
Address: 18004 S.E. 34th St.
Size: 68,845 square feet
Cost: $16 per square foot, about $1.1 million
When: Expected construction completion: Aug. 5
Contractor: TEAM Construction
Items that the district will purchase for the temporary site and then move to the new school include the exterior readerboard, classroom furniture, textbooks, musical instruments, gym equipment, playground chips, appliances for the staff lunchroom, and IT gear including computers, printers, copiers and projectors.
The district is saving on labor costs by applying whiteboard paint to classroom walls rather than installing new whiteboards and then removing them and reinstalling them in the new school the next year.
Crestline Elementary is being rebuilt at its original site, 13003 S.E. Seventh St. It’s scheduled to open in fall 2014.
Susan Parrish: 360-735-4530; http://twitter.com/col_schools; susan.parrish@columbian.com.
Address: 13003 S.E. Seventh St.
Opened: Aug. 29, 1973
43,995 square feet, plus 7,840 square feet in portables
Total space including portables: 51,835 square feet
One-story building; similar design as Riverview Elementary
Destroyed by fire Feb. 3, 2013
First catastrophic loss of a school in Evergreen Public Schools' 67-year history
Crestline will go from devastation to rebirth in 1.5 years
A Feb. 3 fire was the first catastrophic loss of a school in the 67-year history of Evergreen Public Schools.
Four days after the fire, classes were divided by grade level and sent to five host elementary schools in the district for the remainder of the school year. Although teachers and classes remained together, they were separated from the rest of their school community.
In the fall, the Crestline community will be reunited under one roof in a temporary Crestline Elementary School located at the former Hewlett-Packard campus, now owned by SEH America. The space is being transformed into a school, and will be ready for teachers and staff in early August. It will be used only for the 2013-2014 school year.
Meanwhile, the debris from the burned school has been cleared from the Crestline site at 13003 S.E. Seventh St. This summer, the district will break ground on a new Crestline Elementary on the site of the original school.
Breaking ground: Summer 2013 on the site of the original school
Opening: September 2014
60,656 square feet, plus 3,136 square feet in two portable classrooms
Total space including portables: 63,792 square feet
Two stories; similar design as Endeavour Elementary
Parking stalls increased from 102 to 141
It will be larger and more modern, a two-story design similar to Endeavour Elementary. The rebuilt Crestline Elementary is scheduled to open in September 2014, said Susan Steinbrenner, the district’s director of facilities.
— Susan Parrish
View a video of crews preparing the old HP site for Crestline students on The Columbian’s YouTube Channel.
Student enrollment: About 500
Students eligible for free or reduced meals: 72.8 percent
Staff: About 50