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Short Elementary looks like a mess

Short Elementary students who wrapped up the school year just a few weeks ago might not recognize their school if they walked inside today.

It’s a mess.

Much of the flooring and ceiling, along with some of the walls, have been demolished.

But the mess is making way for a better school thanks to the 2019 Bond program.

of the construction at Short.

“Our classrooms are gaining new flooring and ceilings, brightening and beautifying the learning environment to best support students and teachers,” said Short principal Betsy Berkebile.

The construction project at Short includes a lot of renovations that will enhance the learning environment. Highlights include replacing the ceiling tiles, fluorescent lighting and much of the flooring. Restrooms are being renovated, and hardware, along with some doors, are getting replaced. Roofing will be replaced where needed, and paint will be touched up inside where needed. The gym is getting improvements as well, and the kitchen is getting a new freezer/cooler.

Plus, the school is getting some new graphics inside.

“The bond-funded renovations will give our students both roots and wings,” Berkebile said. “One-a-kind branding graphics inside the building will spark students’ interest in community history as they walk along the Shorthorn Trail. Areas of campus will be labeled with names like ‘Beatrice Short Trail,’ after our school’s namesake who came to teach in Arlington in 1921, and ‘Johnson Station Trail,’ commemorating the first school in the area. The designs proudly incorporate Short’s school colors – blue and yellow.”

Outside, some sidewalks have been demolished and will be repoured, and some additional parking is being added.

Much of the work at Short will be completed over the summer, and everything is scheduled to wrap up by December.

Hale

Hale Elementary is getting improvements this summer, too. Though its projects may not be as noticeable as the ones at Short, they are still important for the facility.

Inside highlights include repainting metal doors, replacing the gym floor, refinishing the custodial closets, replacing the flooring in the teacher’s lounge and replacing the ceiling in the kitchen.

Outside, project highlights include replacing fallen concrete sidewalks and patio, installing a swale at the front for better drainage, regrading and sodding around the building and replacing the marquee with a new digital one.

Adams

Adams Elementary was one of only two schools that didn’t get any renovations in the 2014 Bond program, but that was because Adams was new at the time. The school first opened in 2013.

Now ten years have passed, and the 2019 Bond program does include a few improvements for Adams. Inside, exterior doors are getting new hardware, and the kitchen dock is getting a new generator connection. Outside, Adams is getting a new digital marquee, along with nearby landscaping, and the baseball field backstop will be replaced.

And of course, Adams – along with all elementary schools in the district – is getting two new playgrounds with accessible equipment, rubber surfacing and shade structures.