How old is your school?

[AnnieTeach1st]

I was just sitting here thinking about how outdated my school is and I was wondering how old your school are? Has there been any remodeling? What are you main concerns about the condition of you school? Please don't get my wrong I am not at all complaining because I absolutely love my job and what I do but sometimes I wonder (dream) what is would be like to work in a modern school.

1. My school was built in the 60's.
2. No school in the district has ever been remodeled. Same tile, same awful orange and turquoise doors. Same wood panel on the walls. The paint around the door and around the baseboards are all chipped off.
3. My main concern however is the bug problem. We have an awful spider problem and what I hate the most is earwigs (pincher bugs) they live in the doorframes. Everytime you open the door you have to turn the handle and kick the door open otherwise you will have a hair full of creepy little bugs. You have to wait and let all of them fall to the ground before you proceed out the door. Believe me you only forget to do this once.

 

[SusanTeach]

school

Age: 7
Remodeling: Yes, 3 additions (total of 8 rooms) have been added already! We're a growing community and had to add-on 2 years ago - now we're outgrowing it again!
Concerns: Illnesses. For some reason we seem to have a lot of tummy bugs going around. I don't know if that's common, but I don't remember it being an issue in my old school. This one seems like there's an outbreak every few weeks. I don't know if that has anything to do with the building itself or if we just have sickly kids.

 

[stephanie]

My school

My school is only 5 years old. It is a very nice building and is not yet showing much wear. We did have a problem with mold a few years ago, but it was quickly resolved. We have already had one addition, and still outgrowing the building. Overall, a VERY NICE place to work!

 

[Shelbel]

my school

1. It was re-built after a fire in the 60's (I think that's when it was).
2. Not really remodeled, but an office addition and new wing were added a few years ago, and we've had painting done.
3. My only concern is that everyone keeps comparing us to the brand new school built 5 minutes from ours and saying how fabulous that building looks. I don't think there's anything wrong with our building and I feel like it's a lot more homey-feeling than the new school.

 

[vateacher]

1) My school is 25 years old.
2) We've had new carpeting, a new wing and painting done. Some of the furniture has been replaced throughout the building as needed. Cubby units were added about 5 years ago. We will be having our carpet ripped up and replaced with tile within the year. We've also had 2 portables built in the back.
3) We have a mildew/mold problem with the sinks in the classroom. The old counters are 25 years old and the board has spilt and is starting to mold/mildew (quite badly in some areas). We had a bug problem but ever since they came and did a HUGE spray campaign it's no longer an issue. We also had some stomach bug problems last year but the cleaning crew was asked to use a stronger solution to clean sinks, doors, bathrooms and tables (we went from cleaning tables once a week to having them washed down with bleach and water 3 times a week!) I'm pretty pleased with how the school system handles the problems.

 

[Visitor]

Age of School

52 years old!

It was built in 1954 but the wing I will be on was added later and another wing even more recently. The older classrooms are the best though because they are so big. It seems the newer ones keep getting smaller and smaller. Floors & Paint are updated often. Haven't noticed any bug problems but I did hear some mice get into some teacher's closets.

 

[bamagirl]

Old School

My school was built in the 60's as well (I think...it is very old). I think my school is the oldest in our district. We just built a brand new high school a few years ago, and I know the other elementary schools are not as old as we are.

Yes, we have done a lot of remodeling and improvements. Several new classroom were added. We built on an annex with 5 new classrooms about 4-5 years ago. This past year, we had to add 4 more classrooms onto the annex. We are also adding another playground this summer, and they are re-roofing the school. Our school had done a LOT of professional painting. For example, our 5th grade hall is painted like the jungle and our 3rd grade hall is painted like a western community. It is very cute.

My main concerns are the bathrooms! They are so outdated and nasty, and we don't have enough of them!!! I'm sure they look exactly the same as they did when the school was originally built. I think we also have a problem with mold...a lot of people just seem to stay sick all the time (luckily, I have been pretty healthy!).

 

[fun_friend]

My middle school was first constructed in the 1980s with a new wing added in the early 90s. We added yet another wing about 5 years ago. It's reasonably new and up-to-date for the most part, in my opinion. I'd like to see all chalk boards replaced with marker boards and maybe carpet on floors in tiled rooms.

Hooray! We built a new middle school to replace a decrepit one that opens this school year! With my new job, I get to teach at both middle schools. It will be exciting to be in a state-of-the-art building.-

 

[PEPteach]

my school

My school was redone in the mid-90's, but seems brand new. The custodians take excellent care of it!

My only "complaint" which shouldn't even be a complaint, because it's a fabulous school, is that all of the rooms are rectangle, and very difficult to get creative with. On both long sides are built-in shelves and cabinets, and one short wall has the board and the other wall has the computer hook-ups. So, there's just not a lot you can do with it.

 

[teacher1977]

My school is old

However, my school has some new rooms and they are repainting.

I don't want a new room and I don't want a new school. In our district, new schools and new additions have cracker boxes for rooms.

 

[Mrs. G]

1927

My school was built in 1927. It is the oldest in our county. There have been some remodels done. Most of our classrooms are portable building which is the norm in our county do to the tremendous growth here.

 

[javamomma]

My school

18 years old in good shape. It is has been repainted on the inside.
My district is constantly growing and new schools being built.

 

[pamnpr]

New School

Last year I was lucky enough to be part of opening a new school. It has been wonderful. All teachers, staff, parents, and businesses in the area were so into our school that when it opened the first week you would have thought it was at least a couple of years in progress. As the year continued it just got better and better. I still can't get over my great good fortune and look forward to going back to school. Here in Florida every year they are constantly building new schools due to people moving here. "SMILE"

 

[Meggin]

54 years old

My small school is 54 years old. It has never been totally remodeled--everything has been done in a piecemeal way. In the past dozen years, the floors have been retiled, the ceiling has been lowered, and the windows have been replaced. But the student desks are the cast-offs from other schools and frequently fall apart. Some of the desks are high school-sized and my 4th graders' feet dangle above the floor.

 

[KellyTeachTX]

Old School!

I'm moving to a new school district this year, and one of the main reasons is because my old school is SOOOO outdated. The number ONE reason is because of my principal, but that's another story.

This building is so old, it's really sad. The district has spent so much money remodeling and building new schools for OTHERS, but ours has sat here since it was built (1953) with NO updates. It's very sad. I know it may sound petty, but living in squaller (sp?) for the school year really has impacted our morale. The kids KNOW they are the only ones that do not have a new building, and it was only this past May that our school board FINALLY consented to purchasing new carpet (for ONE wing) and to put in a new A/C unit.

Problems???
Bat infestations
Roaches
Spiders
Silverfish (in EVERYONE's Paperwork)
Termites (eating our faculty's restroom!)
Raccoons (nesting over the cafeteria in the ceiling)
I could go on and on, but that's just a few that I've heard of over the years.
Plus, the paint....instead of Priming, and actually USING a BRAIN, they just paint RIGHT OVER the existing paint...same dull institutional green...depressing! When the teachers put something up on the walls, and then take it back down, the paint chips off and the principal gets TICKED if you don't have something else right away to take its place.

I had to have class in the hallway THREE different days last Fall because we didn't have cool air in my room.

And, about the room size..??? UGH... I'm in a part of the building that USED to be Kindergarten, so all the chalkboards are at knee-height and the commodes are practically on the floor.

NO technology at all. Well, I shouldn't say that.... We do have a phone and a TV in each room. We have one projector (in-focus) for the whole school (665 kids PK-5th) and getting that for a lesson is almost impossible. ARG

So, NOW, I'm since I'm moving to another district up north, I'm in a building that's only 2 years old, and the technology is state-of-the-art. I'll be in HEAVEN. can't wait. I've always only taught in low-income schools and even though many of those schools are better equipped (because of the funding) my old school never got the perks of being Title 1...

ok, i'm thru griping...cause next year, things will be sooooo much better.

 

[Ilvtching]

school age..

In my 10 year career I have worked in three different buildings (2 districts). My first district I was there for 8 years. Very old building, some updates, a new wing added. The best part is I always got to teach in the old part... the new part had massive problems with heat, cold...I was glad not to be done there.

In my new district last year was my first year, again 0ld building, well looked after. State of the art technology! Really enjoyed it!

I was moved this year to a new building...8 years old. Great computer lab, lots of storage, I think I will love it. The newest school I have ever been in!

 

[TeacherBee]

School

My school is 10 years old this school year. We opened with just over 200 students and have grown to 650+. Eleven new classrooms were built just 2 years ago and we are now having to use large closets a few part-time teachers (GT/speech). They have painted our hallways once in those 10 years that I remember and the classrooms themselves haven't been painted. We have small beetle-like bugs everywhere, problems with the heating/air in some rooms, and rooms prone to mold. We have 1 large storage cabinet, built-in cubbies, and sinks with upper/lower cabinets. These are so cheaply made that many of them have warped, handles have fallen off, and they are made out of some material that is almost impossible to get completely clean.

 

[New Mex Teacher]

School Age

My school was built sometime in the 50's. There have been remodels and a wing was added 2 years ago. I am in one of the oldest sections and it could definately use new carpeting. However, I love the wall of windows with built in bookcases underneath. I could however do without the cockroaches - YUCK! Luckily they really only come out at night. So I can pretend there're not there. Occassionally they will show up during class and cause a bit of an uproar. I tell my class that unless the cockroaches are carrying a classmate out the door, we don't need to scream.

 

[teacher1977]

Scorpians and Tarantulas

My first year of teaching was in a building where all classes opened to an outside mall area. There was no air conditioning and it was located near Mexico. I found tarantulas in my closet and scorpians behind the bookcase.

Believe me, the giant roaches in Tennessee are a treat.

 

[Mrs. M]

My school is old!

My school was built in 1913! It was then added on to in 1936 as a highschool! It is nice in that it has a lot of history, however it is not a school for elementary children! It has not been updated, some things here and there, but there are carpets down that have been down for decades. The bathrooms need updating in a major way, the teachers' room is horrible, etc. It would be nice to have some major remodeling!

 

[dee]

Varies...

Where I live, most of the schools were built in the 50s. We have a new HS being built, but the core part of our MS was built in 1892! What a piece of junk!

Fortunately, where I work, it was built in the 60's and we are renovating it plus building a new wing.

 

[Toni]

Pretty old

We were built in 1963 (43 years old.) We have 18 brick rooms, and 21 portables. The bathrooms, office, workroom and computer rooms have been remodeled, but nothing else. We do have some cockroach problems as well as some spiders. We are a "courtyard" school, so every room opens directly to the outside. Dirt is an exreme issue, and we get swept 1x a week & sometimes vacumned 2x a week. It could be worse-- at the new schools they only build an office, library & cafeteria & everything else is a portable. There's no guarantee it would be a new portable either. I've been in some ancient, nasty ones from the late 50s/early 60s---YUCK!

 

[Mrs. TN B]

My school

is only 10 years old. It is large school built for 600+ students. We currently have 631 kiddos. We haven't done any remodeling but the paint definitely could use a touch up.

However, just because the building is young doesn't mean it is free of problems. We have a huge mold issue. The wrong material was put on the exterior of the building and allows all of the moisture to seep inside. In fact the building has never been "signed off on" and has remained in litigation. Most teachers keep dehumidifiers in their rooms and the county sends "mold detectors" around each month to check on the most affected rooms. We have had teachers request a medical transfer. This year we had a teacher get extremely sick only to learn that she had mold spores on her lungs. If we were in a more affulent area, the parents would be all over the issue. But we are urban and don't get the same attention as the richer schools.

The next problem is that the designers of our school were on crack when they developed the plans for the building. We only have 2 girl's and 2 boy's restrooms for 600 students (40 classes). Developing a bathroom schedule takes an act of Congress and truly relies on the right hand of God to run smoothly.

Finally, the designers included 2 interior courtyards. These are large green spaces that the intereior classes have a door that enters into the courtyard. Unfortunately, the courtyards are completely off limits to the students. The builders failed to include exterior exits leading out of the courtyard. All exits lead back into the building. Without an exit to the outside of the building the yards are a fire hazard. If a fire were to break out and a class was in the yard, they would have to re-enter the building. Basically we have a few thousand square feet that are absolutely useless. We could have had bigger classrooms, instead we have a large patch or grass.

Please know that I love my school. It was my first choice. I will weather many storms to teach where I do. I just can't believe that the board approved plans and dropped millions of dollars to build such a ill- designed building.

 

[Windalynn]

My school...

is 6 years old and we are already outgrowing it! We lost our music room last year and I am sure mobile units will be on the way soon! I love working there though...lots of room and storage areas. Our staff and students work hard to keep it looking nice...Our district is growing quickly, but they are not building schools fast enough. A new elem. school will open up 2007-2008 on the other side of town, so that will help crowding there...but they will need a new school here too before long

 

[Nat]

50 years

this year is the 50th ann. of my school. it started out being a two room rural school. they added a gym and classes I don't know how long ago and a second addition about 6 years ago. we have two portables.


nat