Returning Ames Students Will Find New Classrooms, Classes

Ames Community schools will have received mechanical updates by the time students return Aug. 18, but what many will notice are new vocal music classrooms at both Meeker Elementary and Fellows Elementary schools.

A larger than usual enrollment -- 327 kindergarteners registered by May -- prompted the Ames Community School District to purchase two portable classrooms to make room for the new students. Elementary students take vocal music every four days so the district decided to move vocal music to the portable units, minimizing the time students would attend lessons in the temporary structures.

The units were delivered near the end of July and are currently in place. Gerry Peters, Facilities Planning and Management director, said people were still working to add stairs, build ramps and connect utility and data services so they would be ready when students arrived Aug. 18.

Peters said his department only has the summer to do about $1 million worth of maintenance projects within the district's seven active school buildings. Superintendent Tim Taylor is dedicated to teaching and learning and Peters said his job is to support Taylor's mission.

“We work behind the scenes keeping the buildings clean and maintained,” Peters said. “We remove the distractions so (the district) can focus on teaching and learning.”

Summer projects included installing fire alarm systems and sprinklers at the Ames High School and installing a fire alarm system at Mitchell. Visible asbestos containing materials were also removed from Mitchell Elementary this summer.

Also new this year is Technology Director Karl Hehr. He comes from South Hamilton Community Schools and was hired about two weeks ago.

And Ames High School students will have at least one new class to take. Arabic was added to the foreign language offerings. Valerie Terando, Ames Community Schools director of school, community and media relations, said she believed the classes were already full.