Classes start as Naperville Central undergoes face lift
Naperville Central High School students returning for the first day of classes Wednesday said ongoing renovations will take some getting used to - but in the end it will be worthwhile.
"I was expecting it to be completely torn up but there's just some tile (missing) so I guess it's not that bad," senior Emily Turkowski said. "I think we're just going to make the best of it and have fun."
Classes opened Wednesday for roughly 18,000 students in Naperville Unit District 203.
Those riding the bus to Central were let out in the school's new circular drop-off area. Because it is right next to the construction site, they walked through a fenced area to get to the school doors.
Once inside, their feet shuffling across bare concrete floors sounded like sandpaper and vibrations from the construction outside could be felt intermittently as they traversed the halls.
Some ceiling tiles were missing and windows on the southeast side of the building are boarded up.
"It's kind of depressing because there's cement and the windows are boarded up but it'll look really nice when it's finished," sophomore Megan Shoemaker said.
Central is in the midst of an $87.7 million renovation that will include building a three-story addition that will house all major subject areas. The school also is getting infrastructure upgrades, a new learning resource center, new athletic and music spaces, improved traffic flow inside and out and synthetic turf on the football field.
Work began in May and will continue through December 2011. During the current school year, work will be focused outside on the addition.
Still, that means there will be some inconveniences such as the noise, vibrations and floors that were stripped of their tile and carpeting during asbestos abatement over the summer.
Junior Tyler Daniluk called the construction "annoying" while sophomore Rosie Goryl said it felt hot in the school though it wasn't as torn up as she expected. Freshman Ryan Sweeney said the work may be a distraction and sophomore Ravi Baidya wishes it wasn't going to take so long.
But all agreed they expect to get used to the ongoing construction and that it will be beneficial to the students who come after them.
"In a couple years everybody will have a smile on their face and say this is terrific, it's so much better," Principal Bill Wiesbrook said. "It's just a little inconvenient for a while."
Earlier this week administrators jokingly gave teachers plastic hard hats with the school logo.
Teacher Claudia Winterrowd said the project will give Central the "space we so desperately need."
She said she is "excited about the rumbling going on right outside the window" and teachers near the construction site already have arranged to switch rooms with classes across the hall when necessary.
At least for Wednesday morning, the sounds of friends greeting each other drowned out much of the construction noise as students gathered their books and looked for their classrooms.
Freshmen and upperclassmen alike received a musical greeting to start the day. "Welcome Back," the theme song from the 1970s TV show "Welcome Back, Kotter," began playing over the speaker system just minutes before the bell rang.
"It's exciting to see the kids hug each other in the hall," Wiesbrook said of the first-day atmosphere. "Even the kids who are a little confused about where am I going or how do I get off the bus and into the building ... even though there's some confusion it seems like it's a positive excitement."