Photograph by Olivia Leung-Brown
The Berkeley School Board approved a $27 million investment for the renovation of Oxford Elementary School on January 12. Renovation plans include tearing down and rebuilding the cafeteria, reconfiguring the entrance to the school to allow street entry to the front office, updating kindergarten classrooms, and creating more student restrooms.
Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) is gradually completing facilities updates to all district elementary schools, said Nina Cohen, a parent member of the Oxford Site Governance Council and Parent Teacher Association Executive Committee. BUSD is renovating property at 2020 Bonar to use as a temporary school site during renovations.
In an email, Oxford Principal Beth Rhine discussed the campus improvements.
“My understanding is that there had been a master plan for school renovations and that Oxford had finally hit the top of the list,” she said. “It’s been a while since anything major has been done to the school and some of the infrastructure need[s] attention.”
Cohen said the district decided to make the relatively large allocation of $27 million towards Oxford due to serious facilities issues including cracked floors, leaky air conditioning, small windows, outdated electrical infrastructure, an inaccessible entrance, and no built-in technology access. The initial proposed expenditure, she said, was four million dollars, and after that ten million, before it was decided to make a larger investment.
The renovation will involve designating space for special education, intervention, and enrichment services.
“People are doubling up on spaces and sharing spaces and tightly scheduling spaces based on not the students’ needs but the availability of the space,” said Carla Inniss, a fifth grade teacher at Oxford. “I believe that the renovation will help us to more effectively serve the diverse needs of all the students.”
Teachers at Oxford have noted several aspects of the campus that need improvement.
“My hope is that the learning spaces will be redesigned so that they are more functional and meet our students’ needs better,” said Shay McGilvrey, a first grade teacher. McGilvrey said the school does not have unique spaces for music, art, and science classes. Currently, these classes are held in spare classrooms or in the cafeteria.
Inniss highlighted challenges with the current cafeteria. She said the stage, which is located in the cafeteria, does not have a light and sound system equipped for performances, and lacks wing space for student performers.
During classes, McGilvrey said the cafeteria’s multiple uses present unique teaching challenges.
“When instrumental music is on the stage, it can be distracting for other students,” she said. “When science and art teachers have to teach pushing their materials on a rolling cart, it is hard for them to prep materials and teach the kind of lessons that are the most creative and beneficial to students,” she continued.
McGilvrey also mentioned her hopes for more adult bathrooms and meeting space for teachers.
For the 2018-19 school year, Oxford students will continue to use the current facilities. In June 2019, the school will relocate to West Campus. Details of the move, such as the school schedule and transportation methods, will be determined closer to the date.
“I appreciate the financial support for Oxford,” said Rhine. “By spending the money in redoing the school, it send[s] the message to the students that we care about the place in which they learn.”