Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Construction Delays First Day of Classes at Nebraska Elementary School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 08/30/22

Ada Robinson Elementary School in Lincoln, Neb., had its first day of school on Monday, August 29—two weeks later than planned. The newly built elementary school was originally scheduled to open its doors to students on August 15, but construction delays forced the district to reconsider, according to local news.

On Friday, August 5, just hours after a media tour of the new facility, Superintendent Paul Gausman sent a letter to parents announcing the decision. “Out of an abundance of caution, I do not feel we will be ready to safely open the school building to students on August 15,” he said in the letter. “In order to ensure the safety of all our staff and students, we need to allow the construction team extra time to finish the core areas.”

One wing of the school is still under construction even after the building’s opening, as well as the playground and an open outdoor grassy area, local news reports. These final projects were always intended to continue through the fall, said Lincoln Public Schools.

“We knew when the project started that Robinson always faced a tight and challenging construction timeline amid a global pandemic which caused supply chain challenges and labor shortages,” said Gausman.

The district also announced that, in order to make up the lost time and meet instructional time requirements, the school day will be extended by 17 minutes for the remainder of the school year. Also, it will not offer an early release for the first week of school, unlike all the other schools in the district.

The new facility covers about 85,000 square feet and has capacity for 528 students, according to the district website. About 290 students are projected to attend during the first year. The PreK–5 facility was named after longtime respected district teacher Ada Robinson, who surprised students and staff on the first day of school to welcome them to their new home.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Big Horn Academy

    Big Horn Academy

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Big Horn Academy has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.