Public invited to events marking the opening of revamped, rebuilt elementary schools | News, Sports, Jobs

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Construction on the Polk Elementary School is nearing completion, as shown in this July 17, 2022, photo. The school is expected to open for the upcoming 2022-23 school year.

Photo supplied, Dennis Montgomery

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Construction on the new Liberty Elementary School is nearing completion, as shown in this July 17, 2022, photo. The school is expected to open for the upcoming 2022-23 school year.

Photo supplied, Dennis Montgomery

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Construction on the Polk Elementary School is nearing completion, as shown in this July 17, 2022, photo. The school is expected to open for the upcoming 2022-23 school year.

Construction on the new Liberty Elementary School is nearing completion, as shown in this July 17, 2022, photo. The school is expected to open for the upcoming 2022-23 school year.

OGDEN — The newly constructed Polk and Liberty elementary schools are opening their doors just in time for the 2022-2023 school year to start Aug. 19.

Staff of Liberty Elementary School, formerly TO Smith, at 3290 Monroe Blvd., are celebrating completion of their brand-new building on Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Polk Elementary teachers will follow by marking their opening on Tuesday. Both events will begin at 6 pm

All community members are welcome to attend the ceremonies, which will feature tours of the facilities. Ogden School District spokesperson Jer Bates said full access will be restricted as construction crews and teachers work to prepare the facilities for children to attend.

Classes will begin on Friday as scheduled; however, construction crews will be present for a short time thereafter to complete “punch list items,” according to Bates.

School projects within the Ogden School District, including Polk and Liberty, have been funded by an $87 million bond approved by voters in 2018 to replace aging facilities.

TO Smith Elementary was demolished due to its age, having been built in 1955. The new two-story Liberty facility, built by Hughes Construction, features solar panels and more green space for outdoor activities and student gatherings, among other amenities.

Unlike TO Smith, Polk Elementary was preserved through renovations that included seismic upgrades, modern educational areas and solar panels because members of the community were opposed to demolition of the school built in the 1920s, citing its historical significance.

Bates said the district was able to incorporate modern learning environments into the 90-year-old Polk building.

“Modern education has become more nuanced than four walls, rows of desks and a chalkboard,” he said.

While restructuring learning environments to adapt to the 21st century was a big change with these developments, Bates said adapting to modern driving patterns was most significant in the process.

Vehicle traffic and pedestrian safety was reportedly a real issue for schools in the district, so creating better access to the buildings with drop-off and pick-up zones was key, he said.

“Parents weren’t driving kids to school in the 1920s and 1950s, they just weren’t,” Bates said.

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