Superintendent Ginny Potter said the addition is designed to inspire creativity and collaboration, skills she said students need to succeed in today’s world.
“Although Bethel Pride is part of our lives, this new addition will even create even more pride for students, staff and the community,” Potter said.
The $22 million addition was paid for by district taxpayers with no financial assistance through the state’s facilities construction program.
“We are proud of what we have independently accomplished through the creation of a new innovative learning environment for our students,” Potter said. “The community was so good to us.”
The project involved Ruetschle Architects, Shook Construction and Joe Harkleroad as owners’ representative.
The new building includes all high school classrooms, library media center, art room, science lab and an open classroom. It also houses the cafeteria with performing arts stage, teacher workroom and lunchroom, athletic offices and facilities and two courtyards, one with murals for elementary art students, among other features.
Bethel graduate and now staff member Kristen Owen helped design the library media center. The center and new classrooms offer “a very fresh perspective,” she said.
Among building highlights pointed out by Potter:
• Color designers combined school colors with complimentary colors to create a soothing and inviting environment;
• Flexible seating is offered throughout the building;
• “Garage doors” between a number of classrooms allow teachers to do cross-curricular teaching, bringing students together to work collaboratively on projects and assigned work;
• Outside, better traffic flow for cars that makes pick-up and drop-off safer and more efficient.
The best thing of all, Potter said, was removal of modular classrooms that were squeezed on the front lawn of the school to help accommodate the district’s growing number of students while construction was pursued.
While the high school work is complete, contractors continue to work on renovations such as the conversion of the former high school office into a classroom and the former high school library media center to a middle school office area and a secure entry for the middle school
Potter’s favorite place in the addition is the open classroom.
“It has huge windows that face the north side of the building and make you feel like you are outside. Every time I go to that space, it makes me smile. It energizes me,” she said.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com.
How to go
What: 100th Anniversary Celebration of Bethel School
When: 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9
What: High School Addition Dedication
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10
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