Archive for Thursday, January 30, 2003

New high school showing its purpose

January 30, 2003

When a community invests in a new facility to the degree Eudora has in its new high school, it wants to get its money's worth. Eudorans received that assurance last week with the first large gathering at the new high school. Those attending the ceremony, marking the school's topping out, were treated to a meal, provided by contractors working on the building, and a tour of its interior.

For most Eudorans, the most noticeable feature of the new high school is the impressive speed with which it is being built. In what was a plowed field just a year ago, the profile and elevation of the school are now clearly discernable.

Superintendent Marty Kobza assured the gathering the quality of construction was as impressive as its pace -- the plumbing was characterized as a work of art and the gym's floor was flat enough to eat off it. We don't have the expertise to comment on construction quality, but we're impressed with the utility of the design that is beginning to manifest itself in the maze of gray cement hallways.

As hard as it is to associate the new school with the square red-brick structures of yesteryear, it is being designed for the same purpose as those earlier homes of community education -- a place to educate the community's youth. Buildings don't educate, but they can be designed with an environment that allows teaching and learning to flourish. Kobza explained to Friday's gathering the thought behind the building's distinctive curved design. It helps segregate noisy educational activities from those that thrive in quietude.

We doubt that kind of thought went into earlier schools, now so fondly remembered by those who attended them. Many older schools shared multi-story cookie-cutter designs that originated in urban areas where land was scarce.

As difficult as it is to believe now, the still unfinished school on Church Street will one day be as fondly remembered as those it replaced. Its design will not only add to its appeal but also will contribute to those graduates' success.

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