$27 Million Sierra Madre Middle School, Still Under Construction, Greets Its First Students

The first day of school always brings bustling excitement and nervous energy, but for the students and teachers at Sierra Madre Middle School the first day back was a brand new experience.

After five long years stuck in bungalow classrooms, the middle school moved into the new $27 million campus — half of the campus at least.

The construction team had to work around the clock including weekends for the three weeks prior to the school opening on Tuesday, paving the last part of a fire road up until 3 p.m. the day before.

“If you had seen this campus three weeks ago, you’d have never thought we would have kids here,” Project Manager Rick Kent said. “We promised the community a place for their kids to go to school this year and pulled out all the stops to guarantee that promise.”

Like ants running everywhere, 160 men would come through the gate at 6:00 in the morning to spread out and get things done.

“It was down to the wire as far as making sure the school was ready, but thanks to our facilities and operations and maintenance folks and the contractors we were able to get it done,” Superintendent Brian McDonald said.

Kent worked every single day of the summer with no days off to get the 20 classrooms open and most of the campus in functional order.

“There were a lot of worried parents and teachers. It was controlled chaos,” Kent said.

The unfinished portion of the campus includes the multipurpose room that will serve as a cafeteria or auditorium with a full stage, the gymnasium, the atrium, the kitchen, and the music rooms.

“Being that they told us it would be ready last March, completely ready and then we are moving into a partial building is a little frustrating,” parent of a sixth and eight grader Beth Teran said. “It does feel good to move in.”

For now, choir meets in library shortly after P.E. finishes in a library that does not yet have any books. Outside the classrooms, construction with heavy machinery continues.

“We are just using what we have. They [the children] are needing space to go run around. That’s one of our biggest challenges. Right now they just have the hallways so they’re going a little stir crazy,” Principal Garrett Newsom said. “First day back, first day of middle school, first day being in a brand new middle school campus.”

One major problem is there is no access to grassy fields or the gym, so there is no space for P.E. or for the kids to play at recess. Newsom said the school would be utilizing the nearby City park for green space.

“We didn’t have P.E., but I didn’t mind because we got to just hang out and play on our phones. We played hide and seek but there aren’t too many places to hide,” sixth grader Gracie Latshaw said.

Teran, who works as a physical therapist, said she was concerned about her child sitting in the library during physical education period.

“P.E. is non negotiable for me, having kids with obesity and all the issues they have, that should be a huge priority to figure out how they are going to get moving,” Teran said.

One parent who preferred to remain anonymous said her son was optimistic when she explained he would be cooped up in the library rather than having a field to run in. He was simply excited to see his friends she said.

“Today was only the first day. Next week and two and three, we will see if they go stir crazy. They are contained in a very small area. They are going to get antsy, they are going to get mischievous, and things are going to happen,” the parent said. “I am concerned about their safety and the environment.”

At the welcome back to school event, this parent said she was surprised at how much was left undone. The bathrooms still did not have signs specifying the girls and boys rooms and were covered in dust. She said she was very hesitant to send her son back to school, but realized her struggle as a parent was not necessarily shared by her son.

“I know they are doing the best they can, but it still doesn’t seem safe. There is evidence even where the students are of construction,” she said. “Last night at the welcome back event a sharp blade was down on the wall out in the open where the students were.”

In the current circumstance, children study inside the classrooms while loud jackhammers buzz outside in order to complete the rest of the campus by December.

Yet, after five years in the bungalows, the upstairs and downstairs hallways of the 20 classrooms seems spacious to the teachers and children. Most importantly the building provides much shade.

The current eighth graders were promised when they were fifth graders that a brand new school would be ready by the time they entered sixth grade. Three years later they are in a new but unfinished campus.

“I actually thought it was going to happen, now its finally here. I remember it just being mountains of dirt,” eighth grader Cameron Agapito said.” “Its amazing. There’s different levels.”

Eighth grader Nico Tierney said he was confused because he didn’t know where anything was but liked the bigger classrooms with more space.

Maggie Newhart and her friend Anna Longhurst enjoyed a treat from Bean Town after school, chattering excitedly about the first day in the new building.

“There’s a lot of windows, so its great views from every classroom. The new building is so big, we’re used to just being in the bungalows,” Newhart said.

The School currently has just under 500 students and will be able to service up to 650.

“It’s been a long haul. I’m anxious to have it over. I feel sorry for the kids who had to move through this building for three years,” a neighbor said as she was pulling out of her driveway.

Special Education Instructor Melanie Kobayshi said she had to believe that the construction workers would get the job done even if it looked far from the truth. She said the classrooms are working, but there is room for improvement before its complete.

“For me the quality of my classroom is so worth it. My principal allowed me to take part when we were designing it. It met all our needs, with sensory rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, sinks, space,” Kobayashi said.

When its completed, the campus will have offer stunning views of the mountains from the multi-purpose room that has huge glass sliding door that leads to the outdoor atrium.

The architect Wade Fraiser from a Pasadena firm called PBWS Architects designed the school to be energy efficient with unique sound enhancements. In the two music rooms for the choir and band an angled wall allows for greater resonance. In the gymnasium a four-tiered ceiling allows natural light to stream in and creates a sound barrier that reduces echo.

The gymnasium, with modern air conditioning will be the first and only gymnasium in Sierra Madre. The gym is large enough to be CIF rated so that high school games could be played there.

“There are several reasons why a construction project gets delayed and we’ve got all of them,” senior project manager from the architectural firm PBWS Mark Lansdown said. “This is a very very difficult project. If you compare this middle school to others, there is nothing like this in Pasadena, this one is real special.”

The main difficulties the team faced included receiving proper approval from the state architect, bracing the building properly due to the high seismic activity area, the complex hydraulic underground pipes for the air-conditioning system as well as the surprises like asbestos.

The building also required difficult engineering with all the featured glass panels and unique architectural designs.

“I was ecstatic this morning when I was directing traffic and watching the kids go in. It almost brought tears to my eyes seeing kids here. I’ve been involved with the project for four years. Seeing it to fruition right now, I couldn’t be more proud of everybody involved in this project. Seeing the kids smile, this is what it’s all about right here. That’s why I do this,” Project Manager Rick Kent said.

Measure TT, the $350 million school bond initiative approved by voters in 2008, funded construction of the new campus. More information on Measure TT can be found at www.measurett.org.

Sierra Madre Middle School is located at 160 North Canon, Sierra Madre. For more information, visit http://sierramadre.pasadenausd.org.