Expansion at CREST gives twice the space

The school's student body kept growing, but the building didn't. After nearly nine months of renovations, principal Keith Posta says there is now "elbow room'.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 6, 2000

LECANTO -- Now that extensive renovations have been essentially completed at CREST, the Citrus County District school for mentally, physically and emotionally disabled children, the school is about twice its original size.

"The overcrowding is gone," said principal Keith Posta.

As the student body at the school grew, Posta said, the teachers had to keep moving their classrooms to accommodate the changing populations. "Everyone's tired of moving because of growth," he said. "Hopefully now teachers can find a home and stay there."

The expansion has included a gymnasium, a media center, six classrooms, a music lab, a workshop room and administrative offices. The old administrative offices will be used for the curriculum and behavior specialist offices.

The new classrooms are for the severely emotionally disabled students who are kept separate from the rest of the students. Other students are in the older buildings and both groups will share common areas, such as the gym and cafeteria.

Last year the school was on double sessions and that will actually continue this year, but they will not be as widely spaced. The reason for keeping the two sessions is transportation.

It is best, Posta explained, to separate the mentally disabled and emotionally disabled students on the buses. This year the SED students' day will be 8:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The mentally handicapped students will attend from 9:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

The renovation took eight to nine months, Posta said, and some details remain. It began last summer and continued into the first semester.

Along with the changes, the students voted on and selected a school mascot. They are the Dolphins and a painting of one is on a hallway wall done by teacher aide Vicki Miranti.

The music lab is available for special projects and programs. "We have the lighting, everything we need for productions," Posta said. In the meantime the physical and occupational therapists are taking advantage of the space.

One classroom, for the time being at least, is set up with indoor physical education games, most of which were donations. There is a pool table, a ping pong table, foosball, air hockey, a shuffleboard table and two checkers tables which were made by students. These kinds of things, Posta explained, provide a venue for students to develop and practice social skills as well as motor skills.

When the new cafeteria was build, the old one was freed for students. "The old kitchen is a vocational classroom, so we can start a commercial kitchen program," Posta said, "if we get the staff."

The workshop room is for production work, Posta said, such as colating newspapers or sorting coupons. This room is available for teachers whose students are producing a product. Seemingly very pleased with the renovations, Posta says the school's staff and students now have some elbow room. The portables are gone and, he said, "It's spacious."

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