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YORKTOWN, N.Y.-- Kathleen Muldoon has taught for 23 years, and to start off her 24th year she was seen setting up her newly renovated classroom at Crompond Intermediate School days before her class would be filled with students.
Its amazing, it all looks so beautiful and well done, the teacher said. The fact is before I left for the summer I didnt really have a vision of what it would look like, but this is just so exciting.
Muldoon is just one of all the teachers at Crompond who will start off the year with renovated classrooms, all of which were done during the summer.
Some hallways through the school received some new paint and a few fixed tiles, but the real changes were made inside the classrooms, where every room received all new casing, shelving and cubbies for the students to give each teacher more room to organize and teach, as well as for the students. Bathrooms were also constructed in the hallways.
Previously, only one of the floors of the Intermediate School had community bathrooms (separate for boys and girls), and the others had an individual bathroom in each classroom, explained director of facilities Dennis Verboys. Verboys, among the other staff at the schools, were busy assembling and fixing up the last few elements of school before the students entered on Tuesday. Although school starts Tuesday, Verboys said students have peeked their heads into school to say hello to teachers, and to check out their new rooms.
Its just great when you do a project this large and consuming, and then at the end of it all you get to see the kids come in and they are so excited. Its great, he said.
The construction done on Crompond, as well as the other schools, was part of a $37 million bond project done over six years. Verboys said each summer the school begins a huge project, which is completed during the summer, to create improvements within the schools.
At Mildred E. Strang Middle School, students can make a splash in the pool that was shut down for the past three years in a much improved environment.
The pool, which was originally constructed when the school was built in 1969, just finished its second major renovation this summer, Verboys said. The pool has new doors, new tile treatments, lighting improvements, and new acoustical boards. The fan room had replacements, a new dehumidifier system, re-tiling, and benches. New equipment includes the addition of an electronic chemical system and a sanitizer, so not only is the water chlorinated and chemically equalized, but its also sanitized, Verboys explained.
There was other minimal construction and improvements done at other schools, including Mohansic Elementary School, which had new paving and some equipment replaced.
Verboys said in the midst of all these big projects that go on throughout the summer, its imperative to have everything done on time and on schedule. Even with Tropical Storm Irene, which caused some delays, Verboys said all the buildings would be ready for students on Tuesday. He thanked all the employees and staff at the building, as well as John Patrick Jackson, the senior project manager for Arris Contracting Company, Inc. who made sure things were done right, and right on schedule so not only the students can enter their new classrooms on Tuesday, but that the teachers have time to set up before hand.
We learn every year as we go the different ways to make projects go smoother, but we have to thank everyone who puts in all these hours over the summer to make sure the kids can come back to improvements each year, Verboys said.
Although the improvements are great, and done just in time for school to start, Muldoon said the best part was yet to come.
"Of course I'm excited, but I can't wait for the students to come on Tuesday, that's the best part," she said.
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