Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Illinois Elementary School Breaks Ground on $6.7M Expansion

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/08/23

Local news reports that Sherrard Elementary School in Sherrard, Ill., recently broke ground on a $6.7-million expansion project. The campus’ new building measures in at 14,750 square feet and will contain two new classrooms, conference rooms, and a new gymnasium. The expansion is the district’s first major construction project in more than 20 years, according to WQAD.

“I think it’ll help not only with scholastic events here, but it will also help with the community,” said district superintendent Carl Johnson. “We have a great partnership with the community in the village, and this will be another space … for a variety of groups that want to come in and use it.”

The project is being funded through federal money and lower bond rats, local news reports. “We took advantage of the money and the financing that we had, so the overall tax rate in the district remained unchanged because of the refinancing of the old bonds,” said Johnson.

Development on the project started in 2020, when school principal Casey Wyant first started in his current role. “It seemed like a pipe dream in the distant future—but here we are, scooping the first shovels of dirt, imagining the renderings of the building just behind us, and dreaming,” said Wyant.

Johnson also commented that the size of the new gymnasium—88 feet by 84 feet—will allow for district-wide meetings of elementary school students, instead of having to convene at the nearby high school.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • nursing students talk while studying in a hallway

    Elsevier Launches VR Simulation Solution for Nursing Students

    Elsevier has introduced Shadow Health Lab with Virtual Reality, a simulation platform that allows nursing students to interact with virtual patients and build clinical judgment skills in a safe, realistic environment.

  • Building Beyond Simulation: Creating Immersive Ecosystems for Healthcare Education

    Health sciences education is one of the fastest-growing facility types in colleges and universities. The demand for medical, nursing, and allied health professionals is driving the creation and renovation of medical simulation training facilities that provide students with real-world experience through advanced simulation-based learning.

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.