D102 Families,
We have officially reached the halfway point of our extended construction summer, and I’m pleased to share that we are seeing tremendous progress across all our facilities. I wanted to provide a brief construction update while also reassuring everyone that we remain on track for a September 2nd in-person start to the school year in all of our buildings.
I know there have been many questions about whether construction will impact the start of school. While there is still plenty of work to be done, the vast majority of our classroom and instructional space renovations are on schedule, and our construction teams continue to make excellent progress each day.
Across the district, exciting work is taking shape. Several buildings' classroom spaces have new flooring and fresh paint installed. New and expanded playgrounds are under construction at Congress Park and Ogden; excavation has begun for the new addition at Park Junior High, which will continue into the fall without impacting student programming.
Anyone who has completed a home construction project knows that delays can happen, and that has been true for a few portions of our work as well. Currently, the two most significant schedule impacts involve the new Cossitt gymnasium and several of the additional classrooms at Barnsdale. Importantly, neither of these delays will require a change to the start of the school year. Our administrative teams have already developed contingency plans to ensure students have full access to instructional spaces, materials, and programming while work is completed.
I will provide another construction update in a few weeks as we move closer to the start of school. I continue to be impressed by the dedication of the skilled tradespeople working throughout the district and appreciate the consistent communication and partnership we have received from Nicholas Construction. Their teams are working hard every day, and I am confident we will continue making steady progress.
Lastly, I want to emphasize the importance of staying out of all construction areas. Unfortunately, we have experienced a few incidents of vandalism inside the construction zones after hours, and we continue to see children attempting to climb over construction fencing during the day.
Please remind your children that these construction areas are active work sites and can be dangerous. Until the fencing is removed, everyone should stay out of these areas and use the designated routes around them. Thank you for helping us keep our students, families, and community safe.
I appreciate your continued patience, support, and excitement as we prepare for another outstanding school year. I look forward to seeing many of you at Meet the Teacher Night on September 1st and welcoming our students back on Wednesday, September 2nd.
Enjoy the second half of your summer!
