Jamesville-Dewitt CSD Holds Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to Celebrate 2019 Capital Project Completion
The Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of their 2019 Capital Project renovations. The ceremony took place on June 6th, 2023, in the J-D Middle School’s new Library-Media Center.
On December 17, 2019, Jamesville-Dewitt residents approved the $33 million capital project to update and modernize spaces, improve energy efficiencies, and update the critical building infrastructure. The project’s goal was to rethink and redesign the district’s physical spaces to match their instructional objectives. Middle school Principal, Andy Eldridge, explained that the district has a focus on “challenging students academically while encouraging them to explore everything life has to offer.” The newly renovated areas provided by the project encourage this by allowing “academic exploration through the physical makeup of the spaces”.
The bulk of the project was focused on the J-D Middle School, which had seen very few updates since its original construction in 1967. Classroom houses 6-8 were outdated, not to code, and the central spaces were disengaged from the perimeter classrooms. Each house was gutted and updated to include a reimagined classroom layout and creation of a central flexible learning space at the core of each house. Ultimately, this aligns the Middle School’s physical space to the District’s instructional objectives. Other key spaces that were transformed include the Library-Media Center, Faculty Suite, locker rooms, Team Room, Fitness / Yoga, Technology classrooms & Makers Space, Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS), Health, OT/PT, and main corridor. Additional scope of work included window replacements, Cafeteria enhancements, pool repairs, LED lighting, solar panel installation, and energy efficiency improvements.
The J-D High School, Elementary Schools, and Bus Garage also received updates and renovations. For the High School, the lower level, south wing of the school was gutted and renovated to create a new (S)TEAM hub. Previously scattered throughout the school, the (S)TEAM hub now brings together Technology, Maker Space, Photography, Painting & Drawing, Ceramics and the Woodshop. Other scope of work included select lower-level classroom renovations; relocation of the Broadcast / Media suite to the upper level, select roof replacements; solar panel installation; boiler replacements; LED lighting, energy efficient improvements, and site improvements. The district’s elementary schools and bus garage all received various renovations and upgrades. Specifically, the implementation of LED lighting and energy efficiency improvements in each building.
During the ceremony, Dr. Peter Smith, Superintendent shared that he believes each renovated space is “absolutely stunning and that they are offering our students and staff beautiful new spaces to teach and learn.” J-D Middle School students who attended the ceremony guided guests on a tour of the school’s renovations. They all shared their appreciation and excitement about the new spaces and equipment. Smith closed his remarks at the ribbon cutting by saying, “With this project completed, teaching at and learning here at J-D has been forever changed for the better and students will be impacted for generations to come.”
