USD 383 is making numerous improvements to its buildings and campuses in preparation for the coming school year. One of these schools is Woodrow Wilson Elementary.
Teachers and students will walk on new pavement in August after the sidewalk and parking lot along Osage Street is replaced.
Daniel Simon, Woodrow Wilson Elementary’s principal, said this meets safety needs of pedestrians.
“The old parking lot was in rough shape, there were a lot of cracks, a lot of decay, some drainage issues and there was also a pedestrian safety issue,” Simon said. “There was really no differentiation between where the parking lot was supposed to be and the sidewalk was supposed to be. The new design elevates the parking lot and separates the sidewalk and the parking lot with a curb. It’s just a lot safer for pedestrians and brings us up to code.”
Woodrow Wilson Elementary had a problem with people parking their cars on what was meant to be the sidewalk.
The new parking lots will also have handicapped parking spots closer to the building, so it is up to code for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Simon said a food service delivery ramp will also be added.
“They have their own dedicated ramp, so it will make moving and unloading food for kids a lot easier and it will be a lot safer,” he said. “Before, they had to use the handicap parking to deliver food, and obviously we had a problem with that, so they don’t have to do that anymore.”
Woodrow Wilson Elementary’s parking lot and sidewalk project began in May, after the spring semester ended, and is expected to be complete in August.
The other two projects at Woodrow Wilson Elementary were completed over the past few weeks, including the installation of sound-mitigating panels in the storm shelter, which also serves as a gym, as well as new plaster and paint in the restrooms.
“It will just bring the echo down in the gym, making it much more enjoyable and manageable,” Simon said. “It was just unbearably loud in there when you have kids playing. We didn’t really use the space for anything else because it was too uncomfortable.”
Simon said this accommodates children who have sensory issues.
“If we were to have all of the children and our staff in there during a severe weather event, it also makes it much more comfortable to be in there,” he said. “It also prevents a lot of children from having anxiety because of the noise because we have a number of students that deal with noise issues. It will make a big difference in the usefulness of the space.”
The Manhattan-Ogden district is improving sidewalks and parking lots at every school.
USD 383’s other building improvements include updating Amanda Arnold Elementary’s fire alarm and HVAC systems, replacing lighting fixtures and fixing drainage issues at the gym vestibule.
It is replacing the panels of the front of Lee Elementary and upgrading the fire alarm and HVAC systems. Marlatt Elementary, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary and Manhattan High will have their HVAC controllers replaced. Manhattan High and Ogden Elementary will have portions of their roofs replaced.
Theodore Roosevelt Elementary is getting new playground equipment on the east playground and new turf on both playgrounds, as well as new mill and overlay of the asphalt playground, new handrails to the older portion of the building and sound mitigation in its new gym.
