Learning
center opens
Ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday.
New Early Childhood Learning Center cost $18.7M in
Phillipsburg
Saturday, January 21, 206 • By SARAH CASSI •
The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG | Take 424 children divided
between three area schools and what do you get?
The new, $18.7 million Early Childhood
Learning Center off Center Street.
Years in the making and opened to
students Jan. 2, the district will hold a dedication and
ribbon-cutting at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The center, an 86,442-square-foot
facility on 11 acres at 459 Center St., houses all of the
district's kindergarten classes and 13 of its preschool
classes, said Principal Judith Leh.
"We all understand the importance of the
education process starting early on and what a difference it
makes," Leh said. "This is to give these kids a leg
up."
The center is comprised of two rings of
31 classrooms built around a state-of-the-art media center.
It also leaves room for new classrooms, if
needed.
The school's design is entirely
child-centered, from the low, red windowsills and tiny
tables and chairs, to the bright yellow and blue hallways
filled with busy bulletin boards.
Kindergarten teacher Blodwyn Gourniak and
her 22-student class fits comfortably in its new
classroom.
"It's a lot bigger," said Gourniak, who
was formerly at the Green Street School. "We love the
classroom."
Just three weeks after the center opened,
Gourniak's room already looked comfortable and lived-in,
with artwork on the walls and labeled cubbyholes full of
supplies.
Besides the classrooms, the center has
separate rooms for art, music, computer classes and
after-school activities. It also has a gymnasium and a
cafeteria that doubles as an auditorium.
The media center/library is a jewel in
the school's crown. It features an atrium, low countertops,
reading benches and a multi-colored reading
carpet.
Librarian Mary Warden is proud to call
the new facility home; before, she rotated between the
various elementary schools.
"The children are so fascinated by the
library," Warden said. "It's just wonderful."
The finished product did not come without
some concerns. Soil tests conducted by the New Jersey
Schools Construction Corp. in September 2003 were positive
for thallium contamination.
Thallium, a known toxin and possible
carcinogen, is often found in low-temperature-melting glass,
industrial emissions and pesticides.
Officials from the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection said the initial tests gave
false positives and later tests cleared the site of any
contamination.
Time was also an issue. The building was
slated to open in September last year.
Instead, Early Childhood Program students
began their school year at the Army National Guard Armory on
Heckman Street and Pohatcong School on Route 519. The
district leased space from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. at the
armory for $16,230, and at the school for $20,600, officials
said.
Leh said it took about 20 months to build
the center. The schedule was so close that teachers and
administrators spent Christmas vacation moving into the new
space and setting up for the 2006 school year.
"We were exhausted but we did it It was
hard. It was challenging," Leh said of the project. "The
staff was really motivated, though. They just did what had
to be done. Everybody came together."
Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by
e-mail at scassi@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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