Groundbreaking Ceremony Held at Wilsona School District.

Lake Los Angeles – On Friday, May 8, with a small group of invited guests (to satisfy Covid restrictions) Wilsona School District broke ground on a new facility being built on the campus of Vista San Gabriel Elementary School.

Superintendent Dr. Susan Bervel said, “Today, we held a groundbreaking ceremony for our new Vista Kindergarten building, which will be completed by October. We are building three new, modern Kindergarten classrooms by the bus loading zone at Vista, and the project starts on Monday. There will be fencing going up in that area of the school, to keep everyone safely away from the construction zone. We are so excited to start this project, which will provide new classrooms and upgrades to our existing Kinder classrooms, as well as new furniture for all our Kinder students for the new school year.”

Dr. Bervel and all speakers agreed this is a wonderful start to learning, to get a great start in the students’ education. The goal is to make all students successful and that starts with Kindergarten. The new building along with new furniture and equipment, 21st century learning equipment, the opportunities will be equitable for all students.

With robust technology, mobile furniture that can be reconfigured, the teacher will be able to customize the classroom for the best optimized learning climate for all students.

Dr. Bervel stated that classrooms have been designed to support 21st Century 360-degree learning environments with flexible space and adaptable furnishings subject to reconfiguration and use as needed. There will be flat screen high-def instructional monitors that accommodate mobile and stationery computer and display devices; tack boards and market boards throughout will allow multiple writing surfaces and designated areas to pin student work and learning concepts; sliding markerboards that cover windows as needed and mobile storage.

Financing was made possible due to grant funds through the State’s Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program and other sources including the “WE” bond measure the community passed. Dr. Bervel said of the WE bond measure, “We are very proud that we went out for a bond in November 2018, Measure WE, which passed at almost 70% voter approval. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank everyone in the community who supported this bond effort. You may see the work that is currently happening at Challenger Middle School, with new roofing and a new heating-air conditioning system, as well as site preparation for the new Kindergarten building for the Vista campus. “

Construction begins Monday May 10.

By Shirley Harriman