It
’s not your usual back-to-school excitement: with less than a
week to go until opening day Aug. 24, Sobrato staff and
construction workers on the site are checking and re-checking,
adjusting and unpacking.
It’s not your usual back-to-school excitement: with less than a week to go until opening day Aug. 24, Sobrato staff and construction workers on the site are checking and re-checking, adjusting and unpacking.
“We’re scampering around in all of our classrooms, getting organized and seeing what’s left to be done,” Principal Rich Knapp said Wednesday. “We’ve taken possession of the A, B and C buildings, and all that is left of those is really just finishing touches. Things like a chair railing in one classroom that’s not up, for example.”
Another minor glitch, Knapp said, is that the company that the classroom whiteboards were ordered from send the wrong ones.
“They are sending more, but they aren’t scheduled to arrive until Friday,” he said. “We’ll install them over the weekend, but if they don’t come in on time, we’ll probably just put up the others and replace them when the ones we ordered come in.”
These are minor glitches, said Knapp. His biggest worry is that the portable walls used to separate the classrooms arrived damaged and must be replaced.
“That’s the biggest snafu,” he said. “They should arrive next week, and we can get through the first four days. The teachers can live with that, although it might not be ideal.”
The widening of Burnett Avenue, though not completed, is not expected to cause much trouble the first day.
On the positive side, most things are ready. The computer system is up and running, as is the telephone system, which is quite an accomplishment, Knapp said, remembering several years ago when he was Live Oak’s principal, and a new phone system with many glitches fretted staff and parents for weeks. The TV network is also up and running.
There is still an “incredible amount” of equipment to get into the science labs and classrooms, and other equipment to get into regular classrooms, but Knapp said it is getting done.
But there is one glitch that students at least might think is more inconvenient than the missing classroom dividers – the air conditioning will likely not be working until a week or so after school starts.
“I’m not sure why, but … it has not been hooked up yet,” he said. “Fortunately, we have windows that open.”
“I’m sure we’ll have a bump here and a bump there, but what I’m excited about is seeing the positive attitude of the teachers, the students and parents,” Knapp said. “I’ve been with staff and I’ve been with parents and students over the past few days, and the enthusiasm level is wonderful.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at
md****@mo*************.com
or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 202
