Belton Independent School District issued the following announcement.
Principal Dawn Schiller said when students return to Southwest Elementary School on Sept. 8, they will hardly recognize the campus that was built in 1951. That’s because Southwest, Belton ISD’s oldest elementary school, received a facelift this summer.
“The teachers started back on Aug. 12 and when they walked in, their reaction was pure joy,” Schiller said. “Pure excitement. I saw one teacher clapping all the way down the hall. Others had huge grins on their faces. The positive lift these renovations are bringing is tremendous.”
The renovations, which began in mid-May, included fresh paint and new LED lighting in the hallways, new flooring throughout and new classroom doors. The gym also received new paint.
“It’s so fresh and bright,” Shiller said of the improvements. “And the color - we love the new colored squares in the flooring.”
Students will also notice plastic laminate panels have been added to the lower half of the hallways and new grip pads adorn the stairs. The building’s original water fountains have been replaced with modern water fill stations.
Inside bathrooms, students will find new stalls and flooring plus special encouragement from their teachers.
“Some of our teachers wanted to take it to the next level by adding positive messages in the bathrooms with vinyl lettering,” Schiller said. “I told them to go for it, and it turned out really well. I think the students will love it.”
The library received a new storage closet, and two double portable buildings that house fourth grade classrooms received new paint and carpets. Schiller said coming soon, the school will have an updated, modern marquee out front.
“The staff here know that Southwest is a hidden gem in Belton ISD,” she said. “With these updates, I know the Southwest family will take even greater pride in our campus home which will translate to greater learning.”
The updates to Southwest Elementary are part of a district-wide facilities improvement to-do list the Board of Trustees approved in October 2019.
See additional photos of Southwest's updates at https://flic.kr/s/aHsmQ16jtq.
Original source can be found here.
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