Part two in a series
By Juanice Gray, jgray@natchitochestimes.com
Photos by Reed Franklin
So much is happening at Fairview Alpha Elementary this summer. First, Project 212 is going the extra degree to keep students engaged in learning. The summer program is available free of charge to students in grades 2-5 currently attending Fairview or Goldonna Elementary. Sessions begin Monday, June 3. Sessions will be from 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday-Friday through June 28. Meals will not be served, however concessions will be available. Transportation is provided at pick up points in the Goldonna and Fairview school districts.
Among the activities are STEAM projects which will include cooking, science, technology, engineering and math. Parents may download and fill out the application (at bottom of article).
Those students will also get to see the school improvement projects as they unfold. Those improvements, which include updated lighting, security updates and restroom renovations are possible through the Dist. 7 bond passed in the spring of 2017.
School Board members Eugean Garner and Steven Harris met with me to provide updates. They were both excited to see the future community softball field come to fruition. “It will give the community back their sense of ownership of the school,” Garner said.
Since the current location opened, there has not been as much community participation and support as with the former location. One of those reasons is access. With the new softball field which will be fully accessible to the public for summer league play, fundraisers and tournaments, that sense of community can rebuild. “They have the education, good teachers and good kids, they are just missing some of the sense of being a community school that benefits the people who live there. This field will be the thing that can bring everyone together,” he said.
Access will be through a walkway installed near the exterior entrance to the cafeteria on the left side of the school. The fields will be behind the building. Parking will be in the existing cafeteria parking lot.
There will also be a bike track for the students. “This something the school really wanted,” Harris said. The two playground areas will get upgraded with new equipment as well as made safer with the installation of a shaded cover. That project alone has a dedicated budget of $94,000.
Security camera installation is underway and the HVAC and LED lighting, as well as the digital marquee school sign are completed and operational.