PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the second time in a week, the School District of Philadelphia has cut the ribbon on a new school building. Last week, it was the Alternative Middle Years at James Martin School in Port Richmond. On Tuesday, it was the rebuilt Holme Elementary School in Northeast Philadelphia.
The three-story, $90 million school is built on the same site as the old Holme Elementary at Academy and Willits Roads.
The first thing you notice walking through the new Holme building is how the classrooms and hallways are bathed in natural light. And they're not really hallways — they're known as “discovery commons” with movable furniture for learning and collaboration outside the classroom.
The instrumental music room has soft seating and retractable risers. The hallways have furniture for collaboration.
April Tomarelli, a district educational facilities planner, says many of the amenities came from student input. “They asked for lots of common learning spaces, lots of nook-type of learning spaces, lots of open and lots of light and that's what they got,” she said.
Even the colors used were intentional. “The color can affect the stimulation,” Tomarelli said, “so if you notice in our autistic support classroom the colors are a lot more muted, more pastel. In the regular ed classrooms they are going to be a little bit brighter, a little jazzier.”
Deputy Superintendent of Operations Oz Hill said as the district evaluates all of its facilities, this $90 million building is an example of what's possible. “This school represents what the district can do,” Hill said, “especially when we have the support and resources from our elected officials as well as from the community.”
The 800 Holme students have been attending classes at the nearby Meehan Middle School during the construction of the new facility. Students and staff will move into their new home after the winter break.