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ELISABETH DYERSt. John's Little School is renovated to offer more space for 4- and 5-year-olds to learn the academic basics.
Three years ago, the board of trustees at St. John's Episcopal Parish Day School decided they needed to improve the campus for 4- and 5-year-olds, called the Little School.
It was cramped and unattractive, said Patricia Douglas, a board member and mother of three children who attend the school.
"That Little School is our front door," she said.
A renovation and expansion was in order, the board concluded.
When school opens Wednesday, students, parents and staff will see the results: a remodeled and expanded Mediterranean-style building with three classrooms for prekindergarteners and three for kindergarteners separated by a multipurpose room. A covered breezeway between the old and new serves for morning chapel gatherings and picnic lunches.
The project cost more than $1-million, said Sharon Cox, director of admissions and development. The money came from the school's Legacy Growth Fund for expansion.
St. John's houses 450 students at three campuses, including the Little School at 1002 S Rome Ave. The site had been a gas station before St. John's bought and renovated it in 1970s.
Over the years, parents overlooked the modest facilities because of the school's strong focus on academics.
"I would say 90 percent of our children leave prekindergarten reading," said Ana Riveron, head of the Little School.
In 2001, the school, which routinely has to turn away students for lack of space, had to shuffle two classes of kindergarteners to the Orleans Avenue campus for first- through fourth-graders, called the Lower School. The board, however, wanted all 120 Little School students together.
As of this week, the kindergarten classes are full. A few spots remain for prekindergarteners.
St. John's opened in 1951 on Orleans Avenue. Because that site had no room for expansion, the school added the Little School, then a third campus on Plant Avenue in 1999. The Plant Avenue campus, called the Middle School, has fifth- through eighth-graders. In 2002, St. John's added a gymnasium and science laboratory at the Middle School.
Parents such as Patricia Douglas appreciate the improvements, which improve staff and student morale.
Her youngest, 4-year-old Anders, starts prekindergarten this year.
"She's very, very excited," Douglas said. "She wants to know when she wakes up in the morning how many more days till school."
- Elisabeth Dyer can be reached at 226-3321 or edyer@sptimes.com