Walking up the stairs of Greenwood High School, you’ll notice an immediate shift in the layout. While the first floor has a welcoming environment, the second floor has a dark gloomy atmosphere. Maybe this is because of the lack of windows, or maybe it’s the lack of floors. All of this and more are going to be changed in the renovations on the school.
There are four phases to the renovations. The first phase starts with the new floor in the school building and turf on the football and soccer fields. The second phase will add a new Health and Wellness Center and a multimedia center. The third phase will add new windows and the rest of the flooring on the second floor will be put in, and the parking lot will be extended in the back. Finally, in the fourth phase the whole front is getting changed.
The first phase was recently completed, with the new flooring and athletic fields receiving new turf, causing a lot of controversy. Mr. Adam, principal of Greenwood High, states, “A lot of people when they think of turf, ‘well, that’s a lot of money that could be used somewhere else,’ but it saves a lot of money and a lot of manpower.” Coach Howard, head coach of the Football team, has to mow, fertilize the grass, condition it, and paint the lines every game. It takes them countless hours and money, just to keep the field playable. With the new turf, money is ultimately being saved because they don’t spend it every year.
With the floors, you’ll notice a new design. While the original flooring was old, the floors are clean, new, and modern. The old floors were white and similar to the floors that you’ll see in the not renovated classrooms. With the new ones you’ll see a pattern, while the old ones were just plain and white. The floors and the football field are all going to be changed in phase one.
Phase two starts with the new two story multimedia center, or as you know it, the library. This multimedia center will be placed in front of the cafeteria. At the same time, the current multimedia center will be renovated into more classrooms. There will be four classrooms, one large classroom and three regular sized classrooms. At the end of the hallway upstairs, they are also adding more classrooms that will extend into the new multimedia center.
Around this time, they will start adding a Health and Wellness Center to the football complex. The center will have a golf simulator, with big fans, and multiple garage doors. During times when it’s extremely hot, players will be able to go inside the center and practice. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, a new home sign is going up, with phase two. Phase two will go out to bid in October. The district will put out to all the contractors exactly what they want done, and they bid on work. They will start to work in November/December if all goes well.
Extending the parking lot in the back is included for phase three. Later, they will add new windows and finish the floors upstairs. In phase four, the school will get a new facade. The school is getting a new entryway, and as of now, the offices are going to be rearranged. With the renovations, there are going to be more offices added, with that, the administration offices will be on the opposite side where the attendance office is, while the current administrative offices are going to be used for guidance.
Like all changes, people have opinions. That’s the same with the renovations on the school. Adjectives have been colorful about the topic, ranging from “distracting all the way up to “fabulous.” When asked about renovations, Ms. Taylor Blankenship, a teacher here at Greenwood High, states, “It’s gotta get worse before it gets better.” Many teachers and students alike have that same opinion, with one student, Margaret Davis, saying, “I feel like it can get in the way of education because it can be distracting… you’ll be in the middle of class and someone will be hammering next door and you’ll be like, ‘Can they stop? I’m trying to do something.’” Ms. Crystal Cale, a teacher, also shares the same concern. She expresses, “I think that it’s taken a lot of flexibility from teachers and students, and it’s going to require much more flexibility into the future.” That doesn’t stop these students and teachers from being excited about what’s to come. Blankenship says, “It’s going to be great when it’s finished; it’s going to be fabulous.” “It’ll be very cool and I think our school will look a lot better,” Mr. Allen Michael Corder, states. Victoria Georgian, a freshman, expresses, “I’m glad the school is trying to get better and look nicer, but I feel like it was very inconvenient timing.” Gevorgiyan shares the opinion with her fellow classmate, Davis. Many people are very neutral about the idea of renovations. Jacob Emedi, a substitute for Greenwood, claims that it doesn’t bother him very much. The same goes for student Charlotte Davis. She states, “It’s not really bothering me that much.” Mrs. Baker also says something similar, “except for the dust when it first started, it doesn’t really bother me that much.”
Even with all the controversy, this school is having exciting renovations. These renovations are expected to finish around 2025-2026. Until then, we’re going to persevere through these changes.
