Gordon Parks Academy will open for students on August 13.

Tours given of Gordon Parks Academy and Earhart
Board of Education members, district staff, and state lawmakers took tours of the new Gordon Parks Academy and Earhart Environmental Magnet to see the construction progress being made on both schools. They learned about the curriculum being used at Gordon Parks and the "green" construction that is being used with Earhart to go along with their environmental magnet focus.

Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks Academy is putting on the finishing touches to be ready for the first day of school. Many families in the neighborhood are wanting to take a peek inside the new school, but it won't have occupancy for guests until August 13. Because of that, enrollment at Gordon Parks will be at Stranger’s Rest Baptist Church, 2521 N. Grove, which is located next to the school.

Principal Stephanie Stovall shows off the school's library.

Gordon Parks Academy is a neighborhood magnet with half of the seats given to neighborhood children; the other half for students who live across the city. The school is beginning the process to become a primary years and middle years International Baccalaureate program. The curriculum will be delivered to all students who attend the school. They plan to send in their first application to be a candidate school in November. Every student will be required to learn a foreign language. This year, students will learn Spanish, but the school hopes to also offer Chinese in the near future.

Parents chose the school's mascot to be the Trailblazers. Gordon Parks' family requested that the mascot be a horse because their father loved horses. Principal Stephanie Stovall said Trailblazers was fitting because their school is starting on a new adventure, and it also described Parks' life and his work.

Gordon Parks Academy is being built next to the new Boys and Girls Club and the TOPS early childhood center. The school will also have a clinic privately-managed by GraceMed, which will provide medical and dental services to area children with needs. Stovall said that with all of the entities so close to the school, it really creates a community atmosphere.

"We are ready for kids to be here," said Stovall. "We can't wait."

Earhart

Earhart Environmental Magnet will open to students later in the fall.

Earhart Environmental Magnet is being built with many “green” features to support its magnet theme. Earhart's classrooms have large windows for passive light, motion detectors for the heating and air conditioning systems, a recycling alcove in the school, a neighborhood recycling center, an environmental lab, courtyards and many outdoor learning sites and will retain rain water on site.

"When I first looked at this building, my brain started clicking and I was coming up with all sorts of new learning opportunities," said Jan McLaughlin, kindergarten teacher at Earhart.

Design and Construction Director Julie Hedrick and teacher Jan McLaughlin show visitors the school's environmental learning lab

The school was built for growth, and will be able to house 450 students. The school will have a library with a computer room, and art room, two music rooms and a multipurpose room that is also a safe room. The school will be wired for technology and SmartBoards, that was purchased by the parents. The old school couldn't support that technology.

Because the wet spring has caused significant construction delays, the new school will not be ready at the beginning of the school year. Students will begin classes in the old school building and move into the new Earhart later in the fall. After the new school is complete, the original school will be demolished to make room for parking and more outdoor learning opportunities. The school arranged to demolish the building with little impact to the existing trees and plants surrounding the old building.

"This building will be absolutely phenomenal," McLaughlin said.

July 25, 2008