Posted 11:48 pm Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Principal: Every Child Under One Roof A Plus
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is the second in a series of stories about the new Tyler ISD campuses opening this fall.
By EMILY GUEVARA
Staff Writer
Like a proud father, Walter Perez shows off the features of the new Orr Elementary School. In his second year as principal at the school, he is prepared to start the new school year in a $14 million-plus facility that will take this campus forward both structurally and, if all goes according to plan, academically.
Staff Writer
Like a proud father, Walter Perez shows off the features of the new Orr Elementary School. In his second year as principal at the school, he is prepared to start the new school year in a $14 million-plus facility that will take this campus forward both structurally and, if all goes according to plan, academically.
"I think just having every child under one roof," he said, will be one of the greatest impacts of this new facility.
Add to that the opportunity to collaborate more easily (because all staff is in one building) and the elimination of annoyances such as loud A/C units in portables and the treks to and from the portables in the rain, and P?rez has many reasons to celebrate.
"We're very proud -- very proud, very thankful," he said during a recent tour of the new school.
He said his goal is to be a good steward of this facility that the community has provided and, along with his staff, move this school to an exemplary rating.
Orr is one of four new campuses that will open this fall. The school, like its counterparts at Jones/Bo-shears Elementary, Woods and Clarkston, which opened in March, were a part of the $124.9 million bond package passed by Tyler voters in November 2008.
P?rez and his staff have taken care to personalize the inside of the new Orr building.
The theme for the school is "Explorers of the World," and every facet of the campus aims to illustrate this theme.
Paintings decorate the archways in each wing of the campus. So from the foyer, visitors can choose to explore "Africa" or "Oceania/-Australia." Other hall archways bear the names of Europe, Asia, North and South America, or Central America.
Teachers in each wing choose a country to be the theme of their classroom and decorate accordingly.
P?rez said he wants to bring in speakers and feature books so that students can learn more about the world around them.
"Between kindergarten and fifth-grade, they are going to 'live' in five different countries," he said about the experience the students will get. His hope is that this exposure to other cultures and other parts of the world will inspire students to think about their futures and possible career options.
"They're going to be able to see what kind of directions they might take," he said. "Everywhere they go (will be) a teaching place."
P?rez said the idea for the theme of the school was born out of conversations among the staff. Last year, Orr's theme was "Moving to Higher Ground." And they did -- literally. The floor of the new campus is at the level of the roof of the old one, P?rez said.
The old building already was torn down, and a field or play area likely will replace it.
Like all of the other new schools in the Tyler district this structure is an upgrade in many respects.
With 44 classrooms, it eliminates the need for portables that had come to almost takeover the old campus. In addition, students and staff will have the luxury of walking inside at all times unless they want to go outside.
This means no more treks through the rain or cold weather for the students.
Like at other new Tyler ISD schools, the library is the focal point of the campus.
It is the first area you see when you walk in the front door. Glass walls on two sides make it light and inviting, welcoming students to peruse the shelves.
The school has about 12,000 books right now, but the library provides space for almost 25,000 meaning they have much room to grow.
TISD Construction Project Manager Monte Robinett said this is a welcome change because the library at the old Orr was packed with no room to grow.
Books, sculptures and various items are placed above the bookshelves designed to make the library appear inviting.
A large painting decorates the back wall of the reading corner and includes some of the more well-known destinations around the world such as Big Ben, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China, among others.
P?rez said they plan to use grant money to expand the library's offerings.
Students can exit the library into the courtyard where a map of the United States will be poured into one section of the concrete.
Tables will be installed in the courtyard outside of the art room so that students can occasionally work outside.
Another area is available for use as an outdoor classroom space. A wrought-iron fence on one side keeps the area secure.
Across the courtyard, students will enter the building into an area P?rez has designated Patriot Hall. There, he plans to highlight American leaders. Pictures of Abraham Lincoln, Paul Revere and George Washington crossing the Delaware lay against the wall. P?rez said he plans to post them on the columns down the hall.
Another personal piece of memorabilia on campus is a folded and framed U.S. flag that was flown during the commissioning ceremony of the USS New York.
The daughter of an Orr teacher works on that ship and gave it to the school.
Even the room to which students will go for In-School Suspension has a theme. P?rez plans to place photos, quotations and other memorabilia highlighting Martin Luther King Jr. and promoting nonviolence.
Aside from the decorative aspects, the school has all the bells and whistles of any new campus. For example, SMART boards and document cameras have been installed in every classroom.
Four half-size rooms function as classrooms for special programs such as reading recovery and dyslexia or speech therapy, P?rez said.
However, should the school need more space, those rooms could be converted to two full-size classrooms. And there is a teacher workroom and meeting room upstairs.
P?rez said Tyler residents should be commended for making this new school construction happen.
He said this investment in education and the city's children is going to give re-sults. He speculated that this generation of children will become the nation's leaders, maybe even produce a president.
"This is going to pay off tremendously," he said.
Cindy Fowler, 59, said she thinks it's fabulous that Tyler is building all of these new schools.
Fowler is retired from AT&T but was helping her friend Bettye Mit-chell decorate the common areas of the new Orr.
Ms. Mitchell has several principal friends and has decorated other new TISD schools in the past.
"I'm very proud to see my tax dollars at work this way," Ms. Fowler said. "This is a beautiful school."
Ms. Mitchell said she, too, is proud to see what's happening with Tyler schools.
"We're really progressing the community," she said.
