Marc Mecurio paints trim around interior windows in one of the refurbished classrooms at Springmill STEM Elementary.
Work is underway at Springmill STEM Elementary School, 1200 Nestor Drive, to prepare for the addition of two first-grade classes and the relocation of Mansfield City Schools’ pre-kindergarten program.
Bob Booth, the district’s director of facilities, said all work will be completed before students begin the new year on Aug. 21.
In all, nine rooms are involved, seven in the STEM Elementary wing. Two open classrooms in the science and math galleries wing – the first rooms on either side of the hallway – will be used for pre-kindergarten.
Three Mansfield companies have been contracted to do the summer preparations, Booth said. Marc Mecurio, whose company is painting, said Tuesday his work should be completed by the middle of next week.
Crider Solutions will update lighting and electrical systems, while J&B Acoustical is doing work on floors.
Springmill STEM Elementary, one of only 42 schools in the state to receive STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) designation from the Ohio Department of Education, opened last year with two kindergarten classes. Two first-grade classes will be added for 2017-2018, then two second-grade and two third-grade classes in succeeding years until Springmill is a K-3 building.
The district’s pre-kindergarten has earned a five-star rating, the highest awarded, from the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The program is moving to Springmill from the Spanish Immersion School on Euclid Avenue. Special education director Jonathan Burras said morning and afternoon pre-kindergarten classes will be located in six rooms at Springmill with a seventh room ready when needed.
David Gilbert, most recently the principal at the Hedges Campus, has been named principal at Springmill. He succeeds Gabe Costa, who had served dual roles as principal of the Spanish Immersion School and Springmill. Costa will continue at Spanish Immersion.
Information about registration and enrollment at Springmill STEM or pre-kindergarten classes can be found on the district’s web site, tygerpride.com, by clicking on the “schools” link at the top of the page.