Six months into the 98-99 school year at Marquette Elementary and O'Keefe Middle Schools people at both are still speaking the praises of the remodeling work and new construction that took place during the summer. From Marty Powers, "It's met all of our expectations and more!" "We have real enhancement to our school," said Pat Delmore. Comments such as these came readily from members of both staffs.

In a conversation with Mr. Powers, he relayed that the new and remodeled spaces have been a "real boost to our morale. The space is lighter, brighter and more cheerful. It's more student and staff friendly." He stated that the space responds to the instructional requirements of the school. Eight classrooms with moveable partitions and shared common spaces provide for enhanced flexibility. He also said that the improved space results in less crowding in the hallways with no longer the "bottleneck" that occurred at the old entryway.

O'Keefe's principal, Mr. Delmore, reported similar impressions when he was contacted. He said that the school has seen a real benefit from the addition and remodeled space. "We've got more room, our science labs are much more functional with increased capability to conduct experiments and improved capacity and storage, we've got new windows that are more functional and aesthetic, and we don't need to have all our students share lockers." Eighth grade science teacher, Barb Kirby, stated that she loves the new spaces. "It is very important to have a central storage location such as we have now. And, our labs really facilitate lab work," she said.

It appears that the school/family community from both schools can pat themselves on the back and congratulate themselves for the rewards that came about from all the hard work that everyone put forth to achieve the end products that we call Marquette Elementary and O'Keefe Middle Schools.

-David Mandehr


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