Gary Moskowitz
A collective air of excitement lingered among Roosevelt Middle School
employees Friday as they moved into the school's remodeled offices.
The school's office staff has been housed in several portable
classroom buildings on the school's front lawn since modernization
work began at the school three years ago. With the new offices
complete, the portable buildings will be removed and grass planted in
their place.
The school's old offices were converted into science labs, and the
new offices are where the school's science labs used to be, along
East Acacia Avenue, Principal Anne Gibson said.
The school's new address is 222 E. Acacia Ave. The school's former
address was 1017 S. Glendale Ave.
"We are definitely excited," Gibson said. "I think it makes us and
the kids very proud, and that's a good thing. The new office puts all
of our student services together in one place, which helps improve
instruction and communication."
The school's new front office is part of a $13-million renovation
and modernization project at the school that is scheduled for
completion by April. The project is funded through Measure K and
state funds, not local general fund money. Measure K is a
voter-approved, $186-million facilities improvement bond passed in
1997.
The school's renovation project has included installation of air
conditioning and heating, improved lighting, updated wiring for
computers in each classroom and added handicapped accessibility.
Since the school's renovation project began, a teachers' workroom
and lounge have been added to the school, along with volleyball
courts and more parking, Gibson said.
Stacks of boxes containing computer equipment and office supplies
lined the hallways and countertops of the new offices on Friday,
which was moving day for school staff. Aurora Rosas, the school's
Spanish-language liaison, spent the morning unpacking boxes and
getting her desk organized.
"It's exciting to have more space to work in," Rosas said. "We can
give better service to parents now. Sometimes it can get very crowded
with students and parents in the office, so now we have more places
to put them."
Students, anxious to see the new offices, came in between classes
Friday. Many helped by stocking supplies.
"It's definitely better than the old offices," said Armen
Mirakyan, a seventh-grader at the school. "Now, if you get in
trouble, you have more places to sit."
Roosevelt opened in 1922 as a six-room school called Glendale
Avenue School, serving seventh- and eighth-graders. It became
Theodore Roosevelt School in 1924; ninth-graders began attending in
1933.
In 1993, the school went back to serving only seventh- and
eighth-graders. A sixth-grade pilot program was launched in 2003.
The middle school serves about 1,050 students.
