Add as a preferred source on Google

California Elementary School Celebrates Halfway Mark for Music Building Construction

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/12/24

Oak Park Elementary School in San Diego, Calif., recently celebrated the halfway point of construction on a new music building for its campus, according to a news release. District leaders and students gathered on March 7 to watch the school’s music students—the Tempo Tigers—perform in front of the new facility. The music magnet school for students in grades UTK–5 offers specialized instruction in orchestra, chorus, band, keyboard lab, and guitar.

The San Diego Unified Board of Education recently passed a resolution recognizing March as California Arts Education Month. “Music and arts education offer students meaningful opportunities to learn, express themselves, and develop a sense of belonging at school and in life,” said Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson. “I am excited about how these new facilities will inspire current and future Oak Park musicians.”

Construction began in summer 2023 and will see the replacement of all portable classrooms with three new facilities: a general-education classroom building, a UTK/kindergarten building, and the music facility, the news release reports. The project also entails a new parking lot with dedicated traffic flow, exterior paint touch-ups, classroom renovations, and new playground equipment and shade shelters, totaling 41,719 square feet of modification, according to the district website.

Funding comes from the San Diego Unified School District’s Capital Bond Improvement program. Construction is scheduled for completion by summer 2025.

“It’s wonderful what we are doing for this school and schools throughout the Crawford cluster,” said Board of Education Trustee Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Illinois District Boosts Security at High-School Stadium

    Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Ill., recently announced that it has completed the redesigned entrance to its high school stadium with a new focus on school security and community engagement, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects and Engineers on the project as part of District #157’s year-long facilities master plan.

  • abstract representation of hybrid learning environment

    The Permanence of Change: Why Hybrid Is the New Baseline

    Hybrid learning is here to stay, and it's reshaping how campus spaces function.

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

Digital Edition