Recent News Board of Education Standards Based Education Construction Updates

Sunnycrest Elementary School

Originally built:		1965
Construction Status:		Opened September, 2011
Address:		24629 42nd Avenue So. Kent, WA 98032
Budget:		$17.5 million

 

Sunnycrest Elementary School is a place where  “every student is someone special.” The school’s educational goal is to make learning so exciting that students will experience the joy of discovering new ideas and building new skills. A community of learners has been created because of this love of learning throughout the school.

The new Sunnycrest building makes better use of natural light. Students and teachers are more secure in the new school with entrances that can be monitored more effectively. A new building also means that students no longer have to bundle up indoors to cope with an ancient and unreliable furnace. Modern wiring and building designs allow for state of the art technology.

The new Sunnycrest is designed to incorporate the latest research into how children learn best. The rebuilt school accommodates new instructional techniques, such as multi-age groupings, looping, teacher collaboration and small learning communities. The building is flexible so it can adapt to future instructional needs.

Students and staff enjoy a variety of the school’s new features: 

• As required by the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol, the school does not have wall-to-wall carpeting, which can contribute to asthma and upper respiratory infections among school children because of reduced air quality caused by dust accumulation and harsh chemicals used to clean the carpets. Instead, each classroom has concrete floors with radiant heat. Each room also has four six-by-six foot carpet squares to use as the teacher chooses. The carpet squares can be removed and cleaned off-site as needed.
• Classrooms measuring 900 square feet give teachers a comfortable space to provide multiple learning centers, such as a reading corner, in the room.
• Long hallways are replaced with clusters of classrooms so teachers and students can collaborate and work in teams.
• Bathroom facilities are easier to reach than in the old building.
• Small instructional areas are available throughout the school. Because they are nestled in private areas, they are perfect for intervention and personal, safe and healthy contact for staff and teachers.
• Wireless carts serve as mobile technology centers and allow easy transport of computers and equipment from room to room.
• Display boards in the hallways allow staff and students to rotate displayed work. 
• There is additional storage in the new school.
• The main office is larger than in the old school.
• New plumbing is free from damage caused by invading tree roots. 
• The new Sunnycrest provides higher capacity fiber optic cabling and conduits to run wires through cleanly. The conduits allow faster and more efficient future technology upgrades. 
• Students, staff and visitors enjoy Sunnycrest’s beautiful, park-like atmosphere with nearby wetlands and an adjacent city park.
• Students and staff are safer in the new building in the event of an earthquake because of additional earthquake resistance features.

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