Post by doctorwho on Jan 12, 2009 8:40:19 GMT -6
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1372999,2_1_AU12_METEA_S1.article
By TIM WALDORF Sun-Times News Group
AURORA -- It may not look like it to drivers who pass the construction site on Eola Road, but the new Metea Valley High School indeed is on track to open in the fall.
"I feel extremely confident," said Jim Schmid, the school's first principal.
Construction is on schedule for an August opening of Metea Valley High School in Aurora.
Those who have recently toured the Metea Valley High School construction site and have seen first-hand how the freshman and sophomore wing is completely framed out with windows in place say the building is beginning to look like a school.
Granted, portions of the school -- the other two-story classroom wing, as well as music and fine arts facilities, an auxiliary gymnasium and the pool -- won't be complete until about a year from now. And some athletic fields may not be ready for teams to practice or play on Day 1.
But Schmid said he has no reason to believe the building won't be ready when the school's first classes of freshmen and sophomores arrive in August.
"We think it will be truly functional and able to handle the capacity we will have when we open in the fall," Schmid said.
Schmid added that almost all of the school's staff has been hired from other schools in the Indian Prairie School District, and all but three or four coaching positions have been filled.
"Of the people I interviewed, there were certainly a lot of people who were excited about the new leadership opportunities that were presenting themselves," Schmid said.
Schmid said they will meet as a staff for the first time this week to begin addressing the "gamut of things that are still kind of floating out there" and need to be resolved before the school year starts. Many of these issues are no different than those other schools deal with, said Schmid, but "we still have to decide how Metea is going to do it."
There are concerns that are specifically related to the construction of a new school. How will new students enroll over the summer? Where will athletic teams practice and play if their fields aren't ready?
"One of the challenges we will have is that we will probably not be able to get into this building until August," he said.
To keep people informed of the progress that has been made toward opening Metea in the fall, Schmid has scheduled monthly meetings with parents and posted monthly updates on the school's Web site, ipsdweb.ipsd.org/Metea.aspx.
He most recently posted a complete list of the staff members who have been selected to open the school and a note reminding eighth-graders who will be freshmen at Metea of their upcoming orientation sessions.
"We're trying to ensure as best we can that students and parents know what's going on every step of the way," Schmid said.
This has all combined to create a sense of excitement about the school's opening, Schmid said.
"All of a sudden, it becomes real to them," Schmid said of the staff, students and parents. "They're realizing this is really going to happen."
By TIM WALDORF Sun-Times News Group
AURORA -- It may not look like it to drivers who pass the construction site on Eola Road, but the new Metea Valley High School indeed is on track to open in the fall.
"I feel extremely confident," said Jim Schmid, the school's first principal.
Construction is on schedule for an August opening of Metea Valley High School in Aurora.
Those who have recently toured the Metea Valley High School construction site and have seen first-hand how the freshman and sophomore wing is completely framed out with windows in place say the building is beginning to look like a school.
Granted, portions of the school -- the other two-story classroom wing, as well as music and fine arts facilities, an auxiliary gymnasium and the pool -- won't be complete until about a year from now. And some athletic fields may not be ready for teams to practice or play on Day 1.
But Schmid said he has no reason to believe the building won't be ready when the school's first classes of freshmen and sophomores arrive in August.
"We think it will be truly functional and able to handle the capacity we will have when we open in the fall," Schmid said.
Schmid added that almost all of the school's staff has been hired from other schools in the Indian Prairie School District, and all but three or four coaching positions have been filled.
"Of the people I interviewed, there were certainly a lot of people who were excited about the new leadership opportunities that were presenting themselves," Schmid said.
Schmid said they will meet as a staff for the first time this week to begin addressing the "gamut of things that are still kind of floating out there" and need to be resolved before the school year starts. Many of these issues are no different than those other schools deal with, said Schmid, but "we still have to decide how Metea is going to do it."
There are concerns that are specifically related to the construction of a new school. How will new students enroll over the summer? Where will athletic teams practice and play if their fields aren't ready?
"One of the challenges we will have is that we will probably not be able to get into this building until August," he said.
To keep people informed of the progress that has been made toward opening Metea in the fall, Schmid has scheduled monthly meetings with parents and posted monthly updates on the school's Web site, ipsdweb.ipsd.org/Metea.aspx.
He most recently posted a complete list of the staff members who have been selected to open the school and a note reminding eighth-graders who will be freshmen at Metea of their upcoming orientation sessions.
"We're trying to ensure as best we can that students and parents know what's going on every step of the way," Schmid said.
This has all combined to create a sense of excitement about the school's opening, Schmid said.
"All of a sudden, it becomes real to them," Schmid said of the staff, students and parents. "They're realizing this is really going to happen."
