A sneak peek into Locust Elementary School’s new learning center coming this summer

A new learning center with a library, computer room, and science and technology resources will take the place of the courtyard in the middle of Locust Elementary School in Marengo as part of a construction project planned for this summer.

Marengo-Union Elementary School District 165 finalized plans to begin renovations June 1 to close off the courtyard to build a new atrium that will house the school’s media center and free up space in other parts of the building, Superintendent Lea Damisch said in an interview Tuesday.

“It’s a very big, exciting project. ... It’s going to be beautiful,” Damisch said. “And it is all happening between June 1 and Aug. 6, so wow.”

Phase 1 of the project – the renovations to the building – will be completed in this two-month window, but Phase 2 – moving the library and computer lab materials into their new home – will happen more slowly over the course of the 2021-22 school year, she said.

When finished, the new space will include the school’s library with an attached computer lab separated by glass doors and windows that can be removed to create one continuous space, she said.

“This will allow teachers the ability to come in to use a bigger space if they wanted to do larger, whole group instruction where they are at tables,” she said. “It gives us a flexible platform of different learning opportunities.”

While Damisch said she will be a bit sad to lose the green space the courtyard provides, she said it was necessary to accommodate a growing student body.

Locust Elementary is a Tier 1 school, meaning it has been identified by the Illinois State Board of Education as needing more assistance through the state’s evidence-based funding model, Damisch said.

The school committed to use those additional funding dollars to keep class sizes as small as possible, she said. The district recently increased the amount of class sections in each grade to reduce class sizes, but now find themselves out of classrooms, Damisch said.

They knew they needed to expand, but were faced with limited options with neighbors to the east, the street to the south and uneven ground to the north, she said.

“The only thing I could do is fill in the middle,” Damisch said with a laugh. “It’s a great use of space.”

With the addition of the new atrium, the building’s old library will be renovated and turned into two new offices and six new classrooms, including an intervention room and a new room for occupational and physical therapy, she said.

As part of the summer construction project, the district will also be adding a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to the building, which previously did not have central air conditioning, Damisch said. Once finished, the whole school will have “state-of-the-art” heating, air filtration and air conditioning with the exception of the building’s two gymnasiums, she said.

They will also be installing new LED lighting in about half of the building and removing much of the remaining asbestos from the building, Damisch said.

The District 165 school board approved the final details of the project in a special meeting last Thursday. Carmichael Construction, a Marengo-based contractor, won the bid for the general contracting work associated with the project.

“We’re ready to put the shovel in the ground,” Damisch said.