Despite being on summer vacation, Ardmore Adventist Academy Principal Stephen Dennis was up early Wednesday morning, filled with excitement.
Dennis and other school officials broke ground on the school’s new building Wednesday, which is expected to be completed for the school year beginning fall 2011.
“It’s a relief now that its happening,” Dennis said.
The school building was destroyed in the February 2009, tornado and the students have had class in two temporary modular buildings since then.
“It was a traumatic thing going through the tornado, but it is fun going through the building process,” Dennis said.
The new building will feature four classrooms, a gym with a collapsible stage that is handicap accessible, kitchen, library and bathrooms.
“We’re putting pretty much everything we had in the old building into this one,” Dennis said.
However, there will be a few differences, including the shape of the building. While the former building was a rectangle, the new building will have two wings in an L shape.
Also an in-ground tornado shelter for 25 to 30 people will be included.
“It will be for our students and any members of the community if there is room and they can get here,” Dennis said.
A peaked roof instead of a flat roof and a larger foyer is also part of the new construction plan.
The students are eager to move out of the modular buildings.
Seventh-grader Caleb Phillips and his friends would pretend to paint the walls of the modular buildings a different color.
“It’s like beige. We’re looking at beige all day long, mind-numbing beige,” Phillips said.
Yet, he finds promise in the new building, which he said he hopes will have at least one blue classroom.
“This (modular building) has a depressing tone. We got it after the tornado, but if we bring color to the building, it will be a happier state of mind,” Phillips said.
Before the new building is done, the academy is making a change for this school year. It will be adding prekindergarten and kindergarten classes.
“I am looking forward to the new kindergarten and prekindergarten programs because I want to see us grow,” Dennis said.
Registration is open to everyone, not just church members. To enroll at Ardmore Adventist Academy, call (580) 223-4948.
“We are part of the largest Protestant school system in the world, and our students consistently score higher than 75 percent on standardized tests,” said Jack Francisco, education superintendent of the Oklahoma Conference. “We’re opening doors to give people here in Ardmore this option.”
