Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008
Students at New Market Elementary School will probably find this year to be much quieter, literally.
Construction dominated the last two years at the school, as workers modernized the building, which lacked wireless internet capabilities and a major security feature.
The front entrance of the school now has a security vestibule found in most schools in Frederick County, which forces visitors to enter the front office and sign in before they can walk into the school.
According to the school's new principal, Jason Anderson, in addition to the new vestibule, the school now has more exits, a closed-circuit camera system and an improved fire alarm, which would all increase safety.
The school has consistently scored high marks on the Maryland School Assessments – for 2008 the school scored 97.4 percent proficient in reading and 96.6 percent proficient in math on the state-wide test. So to Anderson, it feels like he was just made coach of an all-star basketball team.
"I feel a little bit like Phil Jackson," Anderson said, referring to the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. "I'm dealing with a phenomenal team."
Anderson is a former assistant principal at Waverley Elementary in Frederick.
New Market Elementary School was constructed in 1933, with major additions occurring in the 1960s and 1970s. According to Ray Barnes, director of facilities for Frederick County Public Schools, the additions were mainly done to increase capacity. The additions in the 1970s also included air conditioning installation.
"A lot of the older buildings had to be retrofitted for central air," he said.
The school had not undergone major renovations since the 1970s, but in July 2005, design work began on additions to the school intended both to increase capacity and to give students greater access to technology. Construction began in summer 2006, and continued until this summer, he said.
Improvements in educational technology include classroom projectors, document cameras – functioning similarly to a hybrid of a digital camera and an old-style overhead projector but without the need for transparencies – and wireless internet.
The cafeteria was also expanded, as was the main office suite and health room, he said.
Barnes said the construction costs at the school totaled about $9.5 million, and the total project cost, including design and new equipment, came to $11.8 million.
Anderson said that familiarizing himself with his new post has been enjoyable, and the New Market community has readily welcomed him. He said he has been working with the school's leadership team of parents and teachers to define new educational goals and improve communication between teachers and parents.
Anderson said that he wants the school to be a "hub of knowledge" for New Market, and he intended to work with parents on ways to boost children's education outside of school. One area he intended to target was physical fitness, which has been shown through various studies to have a strong link to academic performance, Anderson said.
