NEWS RELEASE: Holmes Elementary School Students, Teachers, and Neighbors Celebrate the Start of Construction on Major Campus Renovations, New Joint-Use Field
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News Release
Holmes Elementary School Students, Teachers, and Neighbors Celebrate the Start of Construction on Major Campus Renovations, New Joint-Use Field
May 28, 2024
SAN DIEGO - Major campus improvements and a new grass playfield are officially underway for Holmes Elementary School students and neighbors.
Students at the two-time California Distinguished School joined San Diego Unified Board of Education President Shana Hazan, Vice President Cody Petterson, City of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, families, community leaders, and Clairemont High School students Tuesday to celebrate the construction groundbreaking.
Funded by local voter-approved school bonds, students at the Mt. Ararat campus will have a new upper-grade classroom facility, a new student services facility, a new Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) classroom building, two kindergarten classrooms, a grass playfield, and campus-wide improvements.
“Holmes Elementary staff have been devoted to students and the neighboring community for more than six decades, contributing to high test scores and academic success,” said Board of Education President Shana Hazan. “With local voters approving our bond measures, we can match that success with high-quality, modern facilities, like the ones we will see here.”
Serving the community for 62 years, Holmes Elementary immerses students in various special programs, including financial literacy, SAGE garden and cooking classes, choral and instrumental music, and visual and performing arts.
The new classroom buildings will include classrooms, modern technology, and collaborative workspaces. Existing upper-grade and kindergarten classrooms will be modernized to include new paint, flooring, finishes, and whiteboards. The new student services facility will serve as the school's main campus entryway and include a lobby and student support spaces.
“With new housing underway down the street, now is the time to re-invigorate our campus so that it is ready to serve all neighborhood students,” said Holmes Elementary School Principal Jonathan Saipe.
Additional improvements include the modernization of three classroom buildings, expansion of the food services kitchen, conversion of the existing student services facility into educational spaces, creation of a new parking lot with a student drop-off and pick-up area, and enhancements to safety, security, and exterior hard court areas.
A new joint-use grass playfield will feature a walking and running track, a drinking fountain, new trees, fencing, and gates to separate the joint-use field from the main campus. As part of the Play All Day partnership with the City of San Diego, the joint-use field will be accessible to the community as a neighborhood park after school hours and during school breaks.
“This joint-use field will showcase our continued work to bring green spaces to communities all across San Diego,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “We couldn’t do it without our partnerships with San Diego Unified and other school districts. Every community deserves quality parks, and by working together with partners communities throughout the city get the outdoor spaces they deserve.
Construction on the project is estimated to be completed in late 2026.
BACKGROUND:
Funding for the Holmes Elementary School Whole Site Modernization and Joint-Use Field project is available through local school bond measures approved by San Diego voters to improve San Diego Unified schools.