• Home
• News
• Archive
• About
• Calendar
• Directory
• Advertisers
• Contact Us

School Journal

Renovations Begin at Anna Yates Elementary

David Mills
Connection Staff
August 2008

$9 Million Plan Will Help Make Crowded School a Better Place to Learn and Play

The roar of bulldozers has replaced the laughter of schoolchildren at Anna Yates Elementary this summer, but it’s for a good reason.

The $9 million renovation of the heavily used school has begun and the campus won’t be the same when it’s finished.

“We’re all really excited,” said Anakarita Allen, the Emery School District’s assistant superintendent for educational services, “especially now that the shock of moving has worn off.”

The remodeling is expected to be finished by mid-January. School officials hope to move supplies, teachers and students back into the campus by early February.

While the work is being done, classes will be held beginning this fall at the District’s old middle school on 61st Street. Notices have been sent to parents and students. Bus service from Anna Yates to the temporary campus to help children who used public transportation is being discussed.

The renovation is adding 20,000 square feet to the 15,000-square-foot campus. Most of the addition will be 2-story modular buildings that will be constructed on the school’s west side.

The interior of the current campus will also get an upgrade. The kindergarten classrooms on the school’s east end will also be remodeled into an indoor-outdoor science center.

Plus, the playground will get a new, softer surface as well as new play structures.

Anna Yates will also get a new principal. Vice Principal Jag Lathan will oversee the school as Allen assumes her duties as an assistant superintendent.

Joe Frantz, the District’s assistant superintendent for fiscal services, said the renovation is needed because Anna Yates barely had enough space to accommodate classrooms for its 400-plus students. The additions will allow the school to provide a more thorough science curriculum as well as provide other programs.

“This will allow us to provide the wide range of services our students need,” Frantz said.

About half the funds for the $9 million project are coming from the state. The other half is from the Emery District’s redevelopment fund as well as developer fees.

David Mills is a writer for The Emeryville

Connection. If you have a question or comment, please contact him at ecocnews@gmail.com