Colonial School District’s renovation of Plymouth WHitemarsh High School officially began Monday when students, administrators and school board members broke ground during a ceremony on the high school campus.
For Colonial Superintendent MaryEllen Gorodetzer the renovation is an opportunity to complement what is already being done in the high school’s classrooms.
“We have been innovators in the areas of professional development, the integration of technology into classroom learning and teaching our students to think creatively and find solutions to real-world problems,” said Colonial School District Superintendent MaryEllen Gorodetzer in a statement. “Now we have the opportunity to be innovative with the building, whether it’s incorporating the latest technology or realigning classrooms to take advantage of opportunities for collaboration and interdisciplinary study.
The renovation will continue until the summer of 2017 and when completed it will have installed new electric, lighting and plumbing systems, new flooring and windows and the added air conditioning throughout the building. Aside from the science wing, the most recent expansion of the building, all classrooms will be “modernized and a new entry way will provide enhanced security and a ‘fresh’ new image for the school that will match its nationally recognized academic programs,” according to the release.
“I am confident that when this project is complete, our high school building will better reflect the high standards of our curriculum,” Gorodetzer said.
Part of the work expected to be completed this summer will be a new cafeteria which will be built on the open-air courtyard at the center of the current building.
The centralized, new cafeteria will accommodate 600 students and eliminate the current two-cafeteria system, the release said.
The merging of two kitchens and cafeterias into one will increase efficiency, productivity and reduce costs,” said Colonial’s Director of Food Services Lori McCoy. “The expenses associated with maintaining, repairing and replacing duplicate pieces of equipment will be reduced as will costs for having food distributed to two different locations in the same building.”
McCoy said the new cafeteria will reduce operating costs. Those savings are achieved through a “scatter serve” system that operates more like a food court, which gets rid of the traditional “long, single-file lines,” enabling “staff to provide more menu variety and expedited service to students.” The cafeteria will use an electronic charging system and have an open-air courtyard section.