Coultrap School starts final chapter

Megaphone in hand, Principal Julie Dye addressed her eager young charges, lined up on the playground:

"We are going into our best year ever at Coultrap Elementary School. We're going to have a great year. Did you notice how the sun came out just for us?"

She then reminded them what an extra-big-deal day it was Wednesday at the west side Geneva school:

"You are a historic last group of students to attend this school while it is still a school."

With the Pledge of Allegiance and the "Can-Do" Character Counts pledge, more than 400 first- through fifth-graders marched into their first day of classes. (Kindergarteners start today.)

Coultrap, which opened as Geneva High School in 1923, will be closed at the end of the year. The oldest part of the building will be converted to an administrative center.

Additions made to the school in 1958 and 1973 on the north side might be torn down to make way for more parking and an expansion of Geneva High, which is just to the north of Coultrap. The district's master plan calls for building a gym and a theater where Coultrap's play area is now.

"This is a charming old building and it is hard to leave it," Dye said once the students were inside. She pointed out the terrazzo floors, the original wood trim, the brickwork, the care taken over the years to preserve the building.

But she's excited about getting to work in Coultrap's replacement -- she's even changed her route to work, so she passes the construction site on Williamsburg Avenue. She's looking forward to having more parking, for one thing, and being able to keep her staff.

Other than that, it was a typical start to the school year. Staff and volunteers wielded walkie-talkies and class lists, guiding students --some with backpacks almost as big as them -- to the right lines, headed by teachers carrying balloons.

"Everybody has been so helpful," said Gina Anderson, who recently moved to Geneva. She and husband Brian watched daughter Sophia line up with her second-grade classmates. Like many of the parents, she had a camera in hand to record the moment.

One mom, scanning the crowd, was heard muttering, "Where did my son go? He's like, 'OK, I'm here with my friends. Get out of here, Mom.' "