HIBBING—The Hibbing School Board recently heard a presentation on final designs for an estimated $2.5 million remodeling project at Greenhaven Elementary, created with insight from district staff working with architects from a local firm.
Construction on Greenhaven began in 1954 and was completed in 1955, according to information found on the Hibbing School District website.
“From my perspective, upgrading Greenhaven will make a more welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all of our second and third grade students,” Greenhaven Principal Robert Bestul told the Mesabi Tribune via email last week. “Classrooms will be modernized and designed for a much better instructional area for our staff. Many of the classrooms will gain additional space as we will be removing areas that were once used for backpacks, coats and books. Those items will now be stored in personal cubes in the hallways. Also, a great deal more storage will be available in the classrooms.”
Bestul said he was involved with the project, but let the teachers take the lead.
“They know what is best for their classrooms and students,” Bestul said.
Hibbing School District Building and Grounds Supervisor Tyler Glad, along with a panel of teachers Jen Forer, Britni Koschak, Gina DelGrande and Ashley Danks started meeting with architects from Widseth in late July of this year to work on the plans.
“The architects who are working on the project have really made us feel like our ideas and questions are valued and heard, which in turn makes us feel some ownership in the changes that are coming,” Forer, a third grade teacher wrote in an email last week. “Tyler (Glad) and Bob (Bestul) have been very supportive in the process as well and are really letting us decide what we’d like to have in our classroom spaces.”
Greenhaven currently houses all of the district’s second and third grade students, and has had different configurations throughout its history. It was originally designed to house three sections of each grade from kindergarten through sixth grade, according to information on the school website.
The most recent configuration came about as part of a district-wide school building restructuring proposed by administration as a cost saving measure. The change also provides greater opportunity for teacher collaboration.
“Once the school district decided to restructure the grade levels and they were going to house second and third grade at the Greenhaven, they knew there was going to need to be changes made to the building,” DelGrande, a second grade teacher wrote in an email. “The building had partial remodel in recent years, but only in work areas. The remainder of the building still has the original interior, which at this point is dated, semi-functional, or not appropriate for the grades that are housed in the rooms.”
Koschak, a third grade teacher, said the panel worked with architects to create what they feel “will work best for students in the space, with the budget allotted.”
“I feel this remodel is great for all staff and students, across the district, as it updates our oldest operating elementary school,” Koschak wrote in an email. “The rooms will have more usable storage, it will have a cleaner look, it will truly give new life to an aging building.”
“Our staff is very excited about this change,” Koschak added.
“Widseth brought us wonderful plans, and we were able to give our opinions on everything from our favorite color palette and classroom layout to exactly which type of drawers and closets would work best for us,” Danks, a third grade teacher, wrote in an email. “The teachers on the committee really appreciated Tyler Glad and Mr. Bestul for giving us a voice in the remodeling project.”
To gain some insight, the panel from Greenhaven visited with their colleagues at Washington Elementary, where the teachers shared “what worked and what didn’t work well in their remodeled classrooms,” Danks said.
Danks said she’s found Greenhaven to be a “beautiful building with a very 1950s retro feel to it.”
One thing Danks said she was surprised to see were the old chalkboards, aka blackboards still in use at Greenhaven.
The remodeling project involves upgrading the rooms with whiteboards (dry erase boards) to accompany the Smartboards already found in the classrooms there. This is the same configuration as found in the district’s other buildings that have already been renovated.
Forer said positives in addition to removing the old blackboards include removing the cement walls to make the layout more student-centered and to make movement through the rooms easier, new and additional cabinets and drawers for storage, new lighting and window shades, updated paint colors, removal of old, wooden closets and cabinets, new flooring, and new paint colors throughout the building.
In a presentation to the school board last week, Glad pointed out the space savings by moving the cubbies to the hallway, and taking out toilet rooms from classrooms, and replacing them with a storage closet.
Forer said she welcomes the extra space—“which is going to also allow for rooms to have more space for students, books, manipulatives, and other learning materials.”
Simple changes like adding some upper cabinets to the back of the room and the position of the faucets and paper towel dispensers have also been added, Forer noted.
A typical classroom and hallway are also slated for the following improvements: new flooring, new casework, a new teacher desk, a build out of classroom door to create an accent, new window ledge, a full cut interior wall, and new paint, according to the plans.
Improvements in other areas of the school include a new floor and paint in the gym; replacing the countertop, new flooring and new paint in the library; new flooring and paint in the cafeteria; new casework, new flooring, and new paint in the teacher lounge.
In his presentation Glad showed plans for vinyl lettering with “Home of the Junior Jackets” and Hibbing Bluejackets anchor logo at the school’s front entrance. The plans also call for a mural of the front side of the Hibbing High School to be displayed on an interior wall, Glad noted.
The school district is anticipating going out for bids by late November or early December of this year.
Construction is slated to start, “as soon as we can get into spaces without disrupting the normal school day,” Glad said.
The project is anticipated to be completed on time for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
“We are so excited to continue with the planning process and even more excited to come back in August and see the amazing changes that are coming,” Forer said. “The school is going to have a more modern look, and the students are really going to love coming to school in their beautifully updated building.”
“I hope that everyone will love the new plans when we come back to school in the fall,” Danks said.
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