Post by title1parent on Jul 6, 2010 6:38:03 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2467248,6_1_NA06_CHILDHOOD_S1-100706.article
D203 childhood center readies for opening
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
About this time next month, it will be moving day for Naperville School District 203's Early Childhood program.
Work crews are nearing completion on the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center, located at 1011 S. Naper Blvd. in the Huntington Estates neighborhood. The 48,000-square-foot school for students through age 5 is set to open this fall with an expected enrollment of 280 students, which includes special education and peer classes.
ยป Click to enlarge image
Ruben Monjaras waters recently planted flowers outside the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center in Naperville. The center is under construction and will be open Aug. 1 for teachers.
(Jonathan Miano/Staff Photographer)
But first, a few more tasks have to be completed.
"Finish scrubbing floor, moving furniture in after flush out, windows, finish the outside ground, and get all their (work crews) stuff out, and we'll be pretty well ready," said Ralph Weaver, director of facilities and construction for the district, during a recent tour.
The project is at the point where crews are working on punch list items. Most of the trades workers are gone already, Weaver said, so the recent work stoppage by the operating engineers isn't as much of an issue with the center as it is with Naperville Central.
"We got 'flush-out' to do," Weaver said. "We do an air exchange for 14 days."
During the 14-day flush out, the building pretty much sits empty. According to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines, after construction -- but prior to occupancy and with all interior finishes installed -- the air is exchanged.
The process is intended to reduce indoor air quality problems resulting from the construction/renovation process. Flush out began Friday , Weaver said.
By the end of July or early August, the 40 certified and 35 non-certified staff members at the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center will be able to move in.
Once it opens in August, the new Early Childhood Center will consolidate programs and teaching staff from five different schools throughout the district. The school will serve the district's at-risk students, and will also provide a blended, tuition-based pre-school program.
Despite the nuisance weather, the project remains on schedule, Weaver said. It is also under-budget. Currently the $11 million facility -- part of the $43 million facilities bond referendum approved by voters in February 2008 -- is about $6,000 under budget.
"We're just under budget, but we have better things than we had originally imagined we would. Better finishes, longer lasting upgrades," said District 203 Board member Susan Crotty, who also serves on the Board Facilities Sub Committee.
With bids coming in lower than expected, the project was able to incorporate alternates that include floor heating, Weaver said.
"The kids are so short to the ground; we want to bring the heat up to them instead of trying to push it down to them. So now the main source of heating in this building is floor heating."
Incorporated into the building and site design are several environmentally friendly features for which the district is seeking LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Those include permeable paving for the parking lot and green stormwater management practices and gardens around the building.
Outside the main entrance is one of the rain gardens, where stones are arranged in a spiral pattern at different elevations. This is meant to help clean the water as it collects.
"So the water comes through and fills up and it gives time for the particulates -- the dirt so forth -- to settle out of the water before it enters the storm sewer system. So that stays a little cleaner," said board member Terry Fielden, who serves as chair of the Board Facilities Sub Committee. "... The dirt has to settle and it doesn't enter the storm sewer with the velocity like it does in the parking lot."
Also outside are two playgrounds. One will serve as a neighborhood playground, while the other is in a secure setting, just for students. That playground is for those up to 5 years old.
"This will be the first rubber base that we have in the district," Weaver said.
Instead of the traditional wood chips on the playground, rubber will be underneath all of the slides, swings and other equipment.
"So when you have to wheel a wheelchair out there or walker, it's just (more) user-friendly," Crotty said.
Inside the building, great attention is being paid to detail. Walls feature self-healing cork, so papers and posters can be put right onto the walls. Classrooms are painted in calm, muted primary colors including yellows and blues. Each class also features several windows, including multiple ones that are lower to the ground so they are child-height.
"The architects were so thoughtful throughout the whole process," Crotty said.
Just inside the main entrance to the school is a waiting area with a large playhouse featuring blocks and crawling spaces for use by students and visitors. It can be used by siblings of students who come to the school for services such as speech or physical therapy.
"Before you would come into the school and you would be sitting maybe in a folding chair and you'd often have other kids with you and they have to sit there," Crotty said while touring the facility. "This is the playhouse when you're here with your other family members, the kids can stay busy the time that they're here ... Everything's real user-friendly."
D203 childhood center readies for opening
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
About this time next month, it will be moving day for Naperville School District 203's Early Childhood program.
Work crews are nearing completion on the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center, located at 1011 S. Naper Blvd. in the Huntington Estates neighborhood. The 48,000-square-foot school for students through age 5 is set to open this fall with an expected enrollment of 280 students, which includes special education and peer classes.
ยป Click to enlarge image
Ruben Monjaras waters recently planted flowers outside the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center in Naperville. The center is under construction and will be open Aug. 1 for teachers.
(Jonathan Miano/Staff Photographer)
But first, a few more tasks have to be completed.
"Finish scrubbing floor, moving furniture in after flush out, windows, finish the outside ground, and get all their (work crews) stuff out, and we'll be pretty well ready," said Ralph Weaver, director of facilities and construction for the district, during a recent tour.
The project is at the point where crews are working on punch list items. Most of the trades workers are gone already, Weaver said, so the recent work stoppage by the operating engineers isn't as much of an issue with the center as it is with Naperville Central.
"We got 'flush-out' to do," Weaver said. "We do an air exchange for 14 days."
During the 14-day flush out, the building pretty much sits empty. According to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines, after construction -- but prior to occupancy and with all interior finishes installed -- the air is exchanged.
The process is intended to reduce indoor air quality problems resulting from the construction/renovation process. Flush out began Friday , Weaver said.
By the end of July or early August, the 40 certified and 35 non-certified staff members at the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center will be able to move in.
Once it opens in August, the new Early Childhood Center will consolidate programs and teaching staff from five different schools throughout the district. The school will serve the district's at-risk students, and will also provide a blended, tuition-based pre-school program.
Despite the nuisance weather, the project remains on schedule, Weaver said. It is also under-budget. Currently the $11 million facility -- part of the $43 million facilities bond referendum approved by voters in February 2008 -- is about $6,000 under budget.
"We're just under budget, but we have better things than we had originally imagined we would. Better finishes, longer lasting upgrades," said District 203 Board member Susan Crotty, who also serves on the Board Facilities Sub Committee.
With bids coming in lower than expected, the project was able to incorporate alternates that include floor heating, Weaver said.
"The kids are so short to the ground; we want to bring the heat up to them instead of trying to push it down to them. So now the main source of heating in this building is floor heating."
Incorporated into the building and site design are several environmentally friendly features for which the district is seeking LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Those include permeable paving for the parking lot and green stormwater management practices and gardens around the building.
Outside the main entrance is one of the rain gardens, where stones are arranged in a spiral pattern at different elevations. This is meant to help clean the water as it collects.
"So the water comes through and fills up and it gives time for the particulates -- the dirt so forth -- to settle out of the water before it enters the storm sewer system. So that stays a little cleaner," said board member Terry Fielden, who serves as chair of the Board Facilities Sub Committee. "... The dirt has to settle and it doesn't enter the storm sewer with the velocity like it does in the parking lot."
Also outside are two playgrounds. One will serve as a neighborhood playground, while the other is in a secure setting, just for students. That playground is for those up to 5 years old.
"This will be the first rubber base that we have in the district," Weaver said.
Instead of the traditional wood chips on the playground, rubber will be underneath all of the slides, swings and other equipment.
"So when you have to wheel a wheelchair out there or walker, it's just (more) user-friendly," Crotty said.
Inside the building, great attention is being paid to detail. Walls feature self-healing cork, so papers and posters can be put right onto the walls. Classrooms are painted in calm, muted primary colors including yellows and blues. Each class also features several windows, including multiple ones that are lower to the ground so they are child-height.
"The architects were so thoughtful throughout the whole process," Crotty said.
Just inside the main entrance to the school is a waiting area with a large playhouse featuring blocks and crawling spaces for use by students and visitors. It can be used by siblings of students who come to the school for services such as speech or physical therapy.
"Before you would come into the school and you would be sitting maybe in a folding chair and you'd often have other kids with you and they have to sit there," Crotty said while touring the facility. "This is the playhouse when you're here with your other family members, the kids can stay busy the time that they're here ... Everything's real user-friendly."