As the school bell rings, students enter through the green chain link fence to start their day. Their teachers welcome them into portable classrooms while construction machines are parked outside the school building.
Due to renovations, classes at Valley Ranch Elementary School look a bit different this year.
After the $321 million bond package was passed in 2023 to approve renovations for Coppell ISD, VRE was selected to be the first campus to begin construction. These renovations for VRE are scheduled to be complete by August 2025.
This renovation is the first part of the district’s 10-year maintenance plan to maintain and upgrade campuses. The board plans to start with the aging “footprint schools” that were built in the ‘90s: VRE, Lakeside Elementary, Cottonwood Creek Elementary, Denton Creek Elementary, Town Center Elementary, Austin Elementary and Mockingbird Elementary Schools.
According to school board president David Caviness, the bond of 2023 addressed the first five years and included major renovations at VRE as the first step. Lakeside Elementary and Austin Elementary renovations are currently planned for the near future.
Some of the changes currently being made to VRE include a new playground, updated sidewalks, upgraded security measures, a hall for the preschool program and a new kiln for art.
Currently, all fourth and second grade classes are in portable rooms while B hall is being remodeled. These portables are set up like traditional classrooms with two classes sharing one portable. While many staff, students and parents have adjusted well with the construction underway, there are some who have struggled with the changes.
“Kids have less play area,” VRE PTO member Hema Rohith said. “Portables are not that luxurious but they are comfortable once you get adjusted. It’s difficult for students to get adjusted to a small space.”
To help smooth out the transition, staff, students and parents have come together to support and accommodate each other. This is especially apparent when it comes to arrival and dismissal before and after school.
“The parents here at VRE have worked closely with us, because we had to change our morning arrival and at the end of the day, after school dismissal,” VRE Principal Cynthia Arterbery said. “For arrival and dismissal it has taken all of our staff participating with that process, where in the past it might have taken only a handful of teachers who were on duty to help with morning time and afternoon time.”
To keep some of the stress to a minimum, VRE PTO has provided gifts and treats to the teachers to support them.
“We are walking into a situation with construction where all the staff that were with us last year knew all about it because we talked about it all year,” Arterbery said. “Building those relationships and making them feel comfortable as we go through the construction process is important.”
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