New Franklin Elementary sees last day of first year

The excitement on the faces of children at Franklin Elementary School on Friday was evident in the time leading up to noon dismissal.

It was the last day of school or, more correctly, the first last day of school at the new Franklin Elementary School building.

"I'm proud of this building," said Dr. Rhonda Dunham, principal of Franklin Elementary. "And the kids have taken such pride in it, too."

The 50,000-square-foot building took two years to construct and replaced the old Franklin Elementary, that was built in 1927. The old school was identified by the Cape Girardeau School District as needing the most renovations, which prompted officials to plan for the new construction.

A voter-approved bond issue in 2010 financed $40 million for district improvements, which also included a new library at the Central Junior High School and construction of the Richard D. Kinder Performance Hall at Central High School. The new Franklin Elementary, coming in at $10 million, was the costliest of the projects.

"It was worth it," Dunham said. "I believe it would have cost $2 million more to have renovated the old school. I know that the wiring wasn't sound, and it wasn't seismically up to date, either. There were lots of things that would have had to have been fixed."

Dunham said that as with any new home, there were quirks in the new school that took some getting used to.

"We had to get used to the alarm system," she said. "You can't get inside the building without being buzzed in, and an alarm sounds if you try to leave without being buzzed out. The exit alarm was going off a lot until we trained ourselves to wait for the buzzer."

Dunham said the traffic pattern at Franklin Elementary will be changed for the 2013-2014 school year because of crowding issues.

"It's not working out like we thought it would," she said. "Next year, the pattern will be reversed so that buses will be in front and student drop-offs will be in the back. Being flexible about things like that is a prerequisite to being in education."

With an enrollment of about 350 students, Franklin Elementary houses kindergarten and first-grade classrooms on the first floor and second-, third- and fourth-grade classrooms on the second floor. There are enough classrooms to hold fifth grade students should the district decide to shift some from Central Middle School.

Dunham, who attended the old Franklin Elementary in her youth, said it wasn't easy saying goodbye to her old school.

"I loved that building," she said. "But changes had to come. It was for the best."

Linda Robert, a literacy specialist at Franklin Elementary, will be retiring after 31 years of teaching.

"I put off my retirement so that I could teach for a year at the new school," she said.

Robert, who has taught at Franklin Elementary for the last nine years, said the new building exceeded her expectations.

"My classroom in the old school was sort of small and cramped," she said. "My room here is more spacious."

Malissa Beecham, who teaches fourth grade, said the new building was a "great improvement" over the old school.

"To me, it shows what the community thinks about education," Beecham said. "It's motivating to know we have a whole village behind us."

Beecham said that in the old building, she taught in a room that had been divided so two classrooms could be created. Now she has an entire room to herself.

"I hope this new building lasts forever," she said.

klewis@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

215 N. Louisiana St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.