TOLEDO, Ohio — For probably the first time ever, Shoreland Elementary School students and staff are actually excited to hear construction happening outside of their classroom windows.
The empty plot of land right next to the current Shoreland Elementary School will be home to the new building in just 15 months.
Some of the building's new features will be include more than two dozen classrooms with moveable furniture so students can collaborate, a massive gym, a cafeteria and an inclusive playground.
Shoreland's Principal Kim Dedo says the students are thrilled. "Right now, our building is really crammed. We use every possible space so for them to even imagine having more space and having more classrooms, I think when I was talking to them about the movable furniture they're like yes, we love this!"
Kadee Anstadt, superintendent of Washington Local School District, said that like the old saying goes, this is the first day of the rest of Washington Local's life.
"This is a moment in time where we're saying after 58 years, we're finally going to put up a new school. We're going to bring modern technology into buildings, we're going to give kids the learning spaces they deserve and we are so grateful to our voters for that."
Current fourth graders will be the first ones to graduate from this new building.
Fourth grader Jersey Wood says she's excited about the entire building being rebuilt.
"I think that, the main thing I'm going to be happy is that we're going to have a lot bigger building and it's going to be much taller than the one over there," said Wood.
The new Shoreland Elementary School is expected to open in fall 2022.