PeeteTeachers, Students Ready To Work At Fresh Campus
— Staff Photos By Tom Turner

NEW FACILITY: Cynthia Redwine staples a sign to the wall in her classroom at the new campus of W.A. Peete Elementary School on Thursday.

By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer

Teachers said it will feel like the first day of school again at Peete Elementary on Monday when students return from winter break to classes in a brand new building.

“I have butterflies in my stomach,” Cynthia Redwine, a first-grade teacher, said as she was putting the finishing touches on her new room a few days before school was to start back. “Everybody is really excited.”
Spanning more than 63,000 square feet with 22 classrooms, security-controlled entrances, an expansive library and courtyard, the new W.A. Peete Elementary is the last school to be built as part of the 2004 bond package.Several teachers said their students had peppered them with questions before the break about what the new school would be like. They are anxious to see how students will react the first day back. “They’re going to have this look on their face — it’s going to be surprised but yet excited, just like it was Christmas all over again,” Ms. Redwine said. With all its technology capabilities and extra square footage, the most popular highlight of the new Peete facility for faculty seems to be that it offers students a chance to be under one roof and out of the weather. The former building, with its open campus design, made students walk outside, rain or shine, to get around the school.“The bottom line is when they’re wet, when they’re cold, they can’t focus on learning,” said Peete Principal Freeman Sterling. “Being in one nice building under one roof where they can be mobile and not have to deal with going out into any kind of inclement weather will be positive for them and teachers.”Sterling said in a December interview that Peete needed a new school because the present facility no longer met the needs of students.

— Staff Photos By Tom Turner

A student retrieves a ball in the gym of the old campus of Peete Elementary School.

"It has become a safety issue as well as a facilities issue,” he said. “I personally believe that all kids deserve to be in good quality buildings for quality learning to take place. Although we have good instruction here at Peete and the learning is taking place, I can only believe that the new building will bring a different perspective for both our kids and for the teachers and just bring about a more positive outlook on teaching and learning.”

The principal expects the library, which features a large window wall system and outside cast stone columns, will become a focal point for the school.“That’s the way it should be,” he said.“That (old) library is small, and, in my opinion, it does not bring near the excitement and the enthusiasm … for reading, and the new library will. It is going to be truly a media center. There is so much potential for growth there.”

Sterling has a personal connection to the school besides just being principal. He is a former Peete student and his oldest sister went to the school the year the current building opened in 1955. “To be here, it’s sort of like full circle,” he said. “To be here for the new school to be built, that’s really exciting.”And the students are very excited as well, he said. “It’s a new adventure for them,” he said. “It’s just like moving into a new house. When a family moves into a new house, it’s exciting for everybody.”

— Staff Photos By Tom Turner

Nine port-able buildings dominated the landscape of the old Peete campus. The new campus will be opening on Monday.
 

TEACHERS PREPARE

Teachers and staff at Peete Elementary have been busy over their winter breaks preparing for the students’ return.They were able to unpack and decorate their new rooms starting the day after Christmas up through the week before school started back. Ms. Redwine came back to set up her room Dec. 26.

“I came in pretty early to get it done because I wanted to be ready when they got here,” Ms. Redwine said. “There was quite a few (teachers) that came the day after.” It meant cutting Christmas break and time with family short for a lot of teachers, but most seemed to believe it was worth it. “You had to give a little to get,” Ms. Redwine said. “That’s how I looked at it — we’re in a brand new school.” She said her family helped her get her new room ready. 
“If you came in for the holidays to see somebody that worked here (at Peete), you were most likely here helping to unpack crates,” she said. The experience taught her something about the people at Peete who came together to make it happen. “This lets me know that we as a campus, as a family, we can get anything done,” she said. “If we can move a whole school in the middle of the year right after Christmas, we can pretty much accomplish anything.” Ms. Redwine was busy putting the final touches on her cozy, colorful room inside the new Peete on Thursday. It’s a far cry from the portable building she was in at the other school. Being inside, for her, has many advantages, including feeling more connected to the rest of the campus and not having to worry about the weather.

In the portables, there were no restrooms, she said. But at the new facility there is one inside the room, which will save her time that she won’t have to use bundling up her class for special trips to use the bathroom.

“That’s great,” she said. “That’s one of the biggest things.”

For first-grade teacher Donna Burnley, she said the old school doesn’t even compare to the new one.

“We’re all in the same building. We’re not open to the street like we were,” Ms. Burnley said. “It feels safer already.

“We’re not going to have to put on our coats, walk to the cafeteria, come back, take off our coats — that wastes so much time. We go to the cafeteria and we go to the library, and nobody has to put on a jacket again … This is going to be so much better and so much more secure.”

Teachers and staff noted the technology, including ceiling-mounted projectors, having a science lab and a large library as features they were excited about in addition to getting to be under one roof.

“The students are very deserving of the new environment,” said Samantha Cheek, a fifth-grade teacher. “It’s just a big change, and we think the kids will be in shock.”

Students will get a chance to go on a tour of the new school on that first day back, teachers said.

A bulletin board decorating a wall in one of the hallways displayed some students’ writings about their new school, which they have not yet seen, except from the outside.

“One day our class will go to the new school. I hope we can take care of the new school. The End,” one student wrote.

Another wrote, “I will take care of our new school … I love my new school. I thank the people that made our schools.”

Linda Mills, a speech pathologist for Peete and other TISD schools, said she expects the new school will give the community and the students a boost.

“The possibilities are unlimited with this school,” Ms. Mills said. “It’s unlimited what we can do with what we have now.”

END OF PHASE 1

Tim Loper, director of facilities for TISD, said he knows the community will be thrilled when they see the school for the first time.

Loper said the barrel vault roof that covers the gym, cafeteria and music room gives Peete a unique flare, as does its pronounced entrance. The courtyard will also be unique, he said. This one will feature different colored pavers, a sundial and an amphitheater-type seating area.

“I’m very pleased with Denson Construction. I’m pleased with the Staubach Company. I’m pleased with the architectural design firm that designed it. It is one of my favorite schools,” Loper said. “We were fortunate to have the property to be able to build this type of school. I think it gives our teachers and our staff, for the future, a lot of versatility.”

The building can easily be added on to, Loper said. There is room on the west side of the campus and the core facilities, such as the library, cafeteria and gym, were built for a larger capacity.

It is yet to be determined what will happen to the old Peete Elementary building. It may depend on what happens in a Phase 2 bond proposal. The facility could be used as swing space for any replacement buildings that might be built as part of that bond package, Loper said.

Peete Elementary is the last of the projects in the first phase of the 12-year, four-phase master facilities improvement plan. The first phase consisted of a $95.9 million bond program that voters approved in 2004 and included the construction of six replacement schools — Bell, Ramey, Douglas, Austin, Bonner and Peete elementaries — and one new campus, Jack Elementary.

It is not clear what projects will be included in Phase 2. A tentative project listing was included when a master facilities improvement plan was unveiled a few years ago, although officials have said that plan is subject to change.

Loper wants for other schools in the district to have what these new schools do.

“I want to do more,” he said. “Everybody’s done such a great job on these to make them successful. It gives me that much more determination to see and be part of making sure the rest of the district gets to enjoy the same things that these seven schools have ... And it’s about to begin.”

 

By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer

From the new courtyard with amphitheater-style seating to the spacious library with a reading nook, Peete Elementary students' eyes were wide with excitement as they toured their new school Monday morning, discovering all its new features.

Students and parents got their first glimpse at the new Peete on Monday when the Tyler Independent School District resumed classes after winter break.

"I love it," fourth-grader Trachelle Dabon, 10, said as she walked through the halls before school started Monday.

When asked what she liked about the new school, her answer was simple - "everything."

Spanning more than 63,000 square feet with 22 classrooms, the new Peete Elementary is the last project in the first phase of the 12-year, four-phase master facilities improvement plan.

The first phase consisted of a $95.9 million bond program that voters approved in 2004 and included the construction of six replacement schools - Bell, Ramey, Douglas, Austin, Bonner and Peete elementaries - and one new campus, Jack Elementary.

Judy Patterson's Head Start class of very young students toured the new facility early Monday morning, chasing the "Gingerbread Man" and his clues from the office to the gym to the cafeteria and eventually back to the class again, where gingerbread-man shaped cookies awaited them.

It was a fun way to help familiarize the students with important destinations in their new building.
 

Students seemed particularly awed by their new, large library and media center - which features a large window wall system and outside cast stone columns along with a special reading nook.

Exclamations of "Whoa!" and "Wow!" escaped from the group as they looked around.

At the conclusion of the tour, Ms. Patterson said to her students, "I like the new school better, don't you?"

Students in her class cheered back, "Yeah!"

Some parents also seemed impressed as they dropped their children off Monday morning.

Beverly James, whose granddaughter is in kindergarten at Peete, said she thinks the new school has more space and offers a better environment for students to learn.

"It's a whole new world," Ms. James said. "I think it's wonderful. My grandbaby couldn't even wait to get here. She was excited to get back to school.

"I think the kids will enjoy it and will be more eager to learn and happier."

The students deserve it, she said.

"It's way, way overdue," she said.

Her granddaughter, 5-year-old Chrishara Black, said she was excited about the new school.
 

"The classroom is pretty," Chrishara said.

LaShica Allen said her daughter has been excited about going back to school as well.

"She's been talking about going to a new school and how big the classroom was going to be," Ms. Allen said.

Her daughter, Zahrya Lee, 6, said she liked the new school because of "all the colors."

And third grader Jose Francisco said of his new school, "I think it's beautiful."

Teachers and staff have said one of the best parts of the new Peete is that it offers students a chance to be under one roof and out of the weather. The other building, with its open campus design, made students walk outside, rain or shine, to get around the school.

Parents seemed to agree, pleased that their children would be safe from the weather and secure inside - free of portable buildings - at the new school.

Norma Saucedo said her youngest son was in a portable building at the old school, where she said it could get cold.

"I feel so happy," she said of the new building. "My little boy is going to have everything inside. That way I won't be worried. ..."

An official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Peete Elementary will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday in the cafeteria of the new school located at 1511 Bellwood Road.

"Welcome to the new and exciting W.A. Peete Elementary."
 

That was the principal's greeting to parents and current and former Peete students and employees Sunday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Peete Elementary - the last of seven schools to be constructed as part of the 2004 bond package.
 

The new facility opened to students Jan. 7, following their Christmas break.
 

After the ribbon-cutting, parents, students and friends toured the more than 63,000-square foot school, complete with 22 classrooms, security-controlled entrances and an expansive courtyard and library.
 

"I'm overwhelmed," said Arlicha Bendy (Jackson), a former Peete student whose children now attend the school, and showed her around. "I'm just walking through with a smile. It's long past due, but thank God for it."
 

Mrs. Bendy said her children love it.

"She was so excited," she said of her daughter. "She was ready after the holidays. Kids aren't normally ready to come back to school. (But she said) 'Mama, I'm ready to go to school - I'm ready.'"
 

Her daughter, Tamesha Bendy, a second-grader, said, "The reason I love it is because it's a bigger school, and we have bigger classrooms. We don't have to walk outside anymore in the cold."
 

Another student, Makiya Jones, a second-grader at Peete who was showing her mom around the school, had lots of reasons why she liked it.
 

"It's big. It's got elevators. You're not squished. ... The gym is big. It's nothing like the old school," Makiya said. "Everything is inside. You don't have to walk in the cold weather."
 

Peete Principal Freeman Sterling said after the ceremony that the kids were excited during the first week in their new school. They were "mesmerized" over the whole thing, Sterling said.
 

"I really think that the facility was probably more than they had anticipated," he said. "It's just changed the whole atmosphere of the school. They're in a facility that creates excitement for learning. Our old school no longer met the basic needs."
 

A former Peete teacher who was getting her first look inside the new building Sunday said she was proud for the students.
 

"I'm so happy they have the opportunity for everything that is in here," said Louann Lewis, who taught at Peete for 19 years.
 

She was particularly impressed with the library.
 

"The library itself is so wonderful, so inviting. I think they'll really, really benefit from everything," Mrs. Lewis said. "We had a lot of days we would get very wet, very cold walking to the cafeteria, but we managed; we learned. But I think this is just wonderful."
 

An estimated 350 to 400 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday, where several officials spoke and recognized those involved in making it happen, including the program management team, The Staubach Company; the architects, Eubanks, Harris, Roberts, Craig, Architects Inc.; and the contractor, Denson Construction Company Inc.
 

TISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said not many other superintendents in the state get the chance to open five new schools in one school year.
 

In August, four other schools opened: Austin, Bonner and Douglas opened replacement campuses, while Jack Elementary was a brand new addition to TISD.
 

"That's a tremendous blessing and tremendous honor," Reid told the crowd. "These schools ... they honor an older community. ... We are so thrilled that we can do that again here at Peete. There's a rich history here."
 

Sterling said the new Peete was made possible through the dedication of many people.
 

"One of my students at lunch this week said, 'Mr. Sterling, is this what we did with our pizza money?' I explained to him that pizza money helped with some things, but there were many other individuals that made this possible for our school," Sterling said.
 

In addition to many others, Sterling thanked the citizens of Tyler "for believing in our district enough to vote for this past bond issue, which has enabled us to enjoy this facility."
 

He gave a special thanks to the staff at Peete.

"These are the individuals who gave up their time over Christmas holidays, away from their families, gave up numerous hours to get this school to look the way it looked on the first day that we returned," Sterling said. "I just want them to know how much I appreciate you and how proud I am of you, of what you have done."
 

Therelee Washington, a TISD trustee, former principal at Peete and former Peete student, said the school means a lot to him.
 

"To see the then and now, it's just unimaginable," Washington said. "When I look at this beautiful structure here I think about where I was principal - nothing like this."

Peete was a Texas Education Agency-rated recognized campus this year.
 

"Having a facility of this magnitude can only enhance the learning for all of our students," Sterling said Sunday.
 

"This experience of being in a new building should be one that all Tyler ISD students experience," he told the crowd. "It does not matter whether it's north Tyler, south Tyler, east Tyler or west Tyler - they all deserve quality facilities. We are hoping that our city will continue with the vision and support our next bond ... so all of our kids have quality learning facilities."
 

Peete Elementary is the last of the projects in the first phase of the 12-year, four-phase master facilities improvement plan. The first phase consisted of a $95.9 million bond program that voters approved in 2004 and included the construction of six replacement schools - Bell, Ramey, Douglas, Austin, Bonner and Peete Elementaries - and one new campus, Jack Elementary.
 

It is not clear what projects will be included in Phase 2. A tentative project listing was included when a master facilities improvement plan was unveiled a few years ago, although officials have said that plan is subject to change.
 

Officials have indicated the next bond election will likely take place in November.
 

Tyler Mayor Joey Seeber said during the ceremony that "some of the proudest moments that I've had as mayor are opening our new schools."
 

"If you think about it ... in the last little over a year, we've opened seven schools in Tyler, Texas - that is remarkable," Seeber said. "It says a lot about the city of Tyler and our community that we addressed the worst needs first. We took care of those schools that needed to be addressed first, regardless of where they were in our city.
 

"I can't think of a better way to spend $100 million than to build seven schools for the future of our city."
 

And the work is not done, he said.

"There's going to be another bond election," he said. "We have more schools that we need to address - we've only begun."