First-grade teacher Mary Fletcher conforts a shy James Harrah on his first day of school at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School. Fletcher let James move to sit next to his neighbor, who is also in the class.
Photo by Jim Craven
By JONEL ALECCIA
of the Mail Tribune
There's only so much new stuff a kid can take.
So if the first few minutes of first grade in Medford's newest elementary school proved overwhelming to Christy Perkins and James Harrah, it's understandable.
As classes began at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School Tuesday, the two 6-year-olds in Mrs. Fletcher's room stifled sniffles, then shed a few tears as the reality of the first day set in.
"Is there anybody else who went to Lone Pine Elementary School?" called Mary Fletcher, cradling an arm around James' shoulder, then scooting his desk next to a buddy's across the room.
Everything's so NEW, after all, from the kids and the teachers to the high-tech building itself, the first school built in Medford in a quarter century.
By recess, however, the two first-graders were fine, their relieved grins matching the smiles on the faces of the grown-ups charged with getting the $7.5 million school up and running.
"So far, so good," said Principal Bob Hartwig, calling greetings as nearly 600 students streamed through the entry doors.
Sure, the school off Delta Waters Road is not completely done, Hartwig acknowledged. On Tuesday, workers still labored on the gymnasium floor and painters perched on ladders in hallways, tending to last-minute details.
And stalls in the student restrooms lack doors because the ones that arrived were the wrong size. The contractor expects to have new doors in place by October, Hartwig said.
The situation concerned a few parents worried about student privacy. "We're doing the best job we can," Hartwig said.
But the open stalls drew only giggles from Fletcher's students, who were already tickled at the high-tech toilets installed in the new school.
"You don't have to flush!" came a voice from the boys' restroom. "It does it by itself!"
State-of-the art gizmos aren't limited to the restrooms at the school, built with funds from a $35 million bond approved by local voters in 1995.
Designed with input from teachers, the school features computer links in every classroom, individual conference rooms, built-in cubbyholes and a cutting-edge media center. It's well-lighted and well-landscaped, with attractive plantings in a courtyard and bordering the newly stocked playground.
"It's just beautiful, isn't it?" said Fletcher, who has taught for more than three decades, never before in a new school.
Her views were echoed by parents hovering in the brightly carpeted hallways as youngsters trooped to class.
"This is just the most wonderful thing," said Angela Doss, 31, a little misty-eyed as she left Alexandria, 6, in Fletcher's care. "She has been looking forward to this day all summer."
Out on the blacktop, where children bounced new balls and swung on new swings, kids seemed pleased with the new digs.
"I like it 'cause it has a bigger playground, and 'cause my classroom at the other school was smaller," said Robin Plunk, 6.
Older kids praised the atmosphere and the amenities, too.
"I was at Kennedy and there were no inside hallways. It's a lot different," said sixth-grader Brittany Grout, 11. "This is all new. The courtyard is beautiful."
Even Christy Perkins' tears were long gone as she marched across the playground, back to Room 22 and Mrs. Fletcher.
"It's cool," said the former Hoover School kindergartner. "I
was sad this morning because I didn't know what it was gonna be like. But
it's new and it does more stuff than my old school."