Bond projects update at the start of summer 2017

BUSES ARRIVE

All 15 new route buses and one of two new activity buses have arrived. An additional activity bus and two people-movers, all with Bruins graphics, will arrive later.

NEW PROJECTS UNDERWAY AT FIVE SITES

Both new activity buses and two additional people-movers will feature extensive Bruins graphics

Both the music and athletics programs will benefit from renovations of the 1939 Phillips Field House and its 1968 addition and the addition of a ramp in the band room and renovation of one room in the 2004 Fine Arts Center

Much of the remainder of the 1939 Phillips Field House and its 1968 addition will also be renovated to benefit a variety of athletics programs. The pom program will gain a locker room from a former classroom. The smaller auxiliary gym, which for years has been a weight room, will become a much-improved pom practice space.

Various offices and locker rooms between the main gym and the north auxiliary gym will be renovated to improve the weight room area and locker rooms for physical education and provide improved locker room and other spaces for the cheerleading and wrestling programs. The wrestling practice room will be renovated and expanded.

Madison renovations begin

The renovations at Madison Middle School have also begun. They will bring improvements for transportation, climate control, the auditorium, and the music programs.

Bus Loop

A loop around the building will be constructed to separate buses from personal vehicles, improving traffic and safety before and after school. Buses will then be able to pick up and drop off at the commons area on the north side of the school, while parent pick-up and drop-off will remain in the loop drive off Baylor.

The tennis courts are complete except for some lighting work

Indoor practice facility renovations come to a close

The Bruin Activity Center renovations, which segmented the final bay of the existing facility into an weight room for the athletics program and a practice space for the cheerleaders, have come to a close. In the shots below, the only missing elements are some graphics.

These two spaces now include full climate control, an improvement over the spaces they used to occupy in the 1968 additions to the 1939 Phillips Field House. The larger 1968 auxiliary gym can now be dedicated to the school's physical education classes, while the smaller gym, which for many years was a weight room, will soon be renovated into a practice space for the pom program.

Dedicated Band, Choir, and Orchestra Rooms

The former Sooner High/Mid-High facility has never had separate rooms for band and orchestra, so the auditorium stage was in daily use for practice, impeding its other uses. The building of the softball locker room, which is the only new square footage in the entire 2016 bond issue, will free up space in the main building so that locker rooms just north of the auditorium can be reconfigured.

The choir program will be moving to space in the reconfigured area, allowing the orchestra program to use the former choir room. The locker room area reconfiguration will also provide an additional breakout room and storage for the music programs, while still providing appropriate locker rooms for girls and boys taking physical education classes.

Auditorium Improvements

The auditorium seats will be replaced with ones like those in the Fine Arts Center at the high school. The finishes and systems in the stage area and auditorium will be refreshed where needed.

HVAC Upgrade

The original steam heating system, which has been serving portions of the site since it was constructed in the late 1960s, will finally be replaced with a modern and energy efficient system with on-demand heating and cooling.

Central auditorium update

The auditorium was the only part of Central Middle School that was not renovated in the 2013 bond issue. Now the seats on its main level will be replaced with ones like those at the high school Fine Arts Center, while the historic seats will remain in the balcony. Plaster rot will be addressed, worn carpet replaced, and there will be a safety update for the balcony rail and updates to the audiovisual system.

Jane Phillips & Hoover finish refreshes

Previous bond issues renovated the corridors of the other four district elementary schools, but Hoover and Jane Phillips had not been refreshed. Paint and carpet and other finish refreshes will bring those sites up to par. Some exterior panel issues at both sites and a parking lot issue at Jane Phillips will also be addressed.

OTHER PROJECTS

Furniture

Priority furnishings needed for Bartlesville High School, Central Middle School, Madison Middle School, and Richard Kane Elementary School should arrive in July.

Carpet

Half of the final bay of the Bruin Activity Center, the indoor practice facility located south of 18th Street at the high school, is now a great space for the cheerleading program; the program will also have offices and locker space in the Phillips Field House once its renovations are completed

The other half of the final bay of the Bruin Activity Center is now an athletics weight room; the physical education weight room remains in the Phillips Field House

Another view of the athletics room, showing the wall separating that bay from the rest of the indoor practice facility; HVAC units were added to serve both the cheerleading and athletics weight room spaces

Softball locker room construction continues

The heavy spring rains slowed its progress, but construction continues on the new locker room and dugouts at the softball field located at Madison Middle School. The locker room walls have been built, the dugouts are framed, and trusses are on site and should be installed soon.

Custer Stadium locker rooms

Bids will be received in mid-June on the last major renovation project in the 2016 bond issue. The lowest level of Custer Stadium will be renovated to finally provide locker rooms for track, cross country, and tennis as well as space for girls soccer.

The walls are built for the new softball locker room

Hoover/Madison driveway

Bids will be received in mid-June to build a loop drive around Hoover Elementary to improve traffic and pedestrian safety.

CHROMEBOOKS FOR FRESHMEN

The 2016 bond issue also provided funding for a variety of technology improvements, focused on a Student Computing Initiative to phase in devices students can use at school and at home.

In August 2017 all freshmen at Bartlesville High School will receive a new Chromebook. These cloud-based computers are inexpensive but powerful ways to modernize instruction.

The dugout walls are completed at the softball field

Doenges Stadium making good progress

The locker room renovation at Doenges Stadium has been completed. The carpet in the press box has been installed and minor repairs to the walls are being done. The guest press box floor has been repaired.

A parent or guardian must be present with each freshman student to check out the Chromebook. The first check-out will be after the Bruin Camp on Friday, August 4, with the remainder to be checked out on Thursday, August 10. On 8/10, Chromebooks will be distributed as part of schedule pick-up from 8:30-11 a.m. and from 12:30-3 p.m., with an evening Chromebook checkout from 5-7:30 p.m.

In August the district plans to provide parents the opportunity to purchase Chromebook insurance online with a credit card. There will also be credit card, check, and cash insurance sales on the August 4 and August 10 pick-up days. The $30 insurance plan fully covers the first incident a student might have with accidental damage to a Chromebook, and covers half the cost of a second incident.

A new Student Technology Support Team class at the high school will handle Chromebook repairs and usage issues as well as assist staff with various technology needs.

Canvas across grades 6-12 in 2017-2018

More teachers will be using the Canvas Learning Management System to provide class calendars and assignments to students. All freshmen will begin submitting some digital assignments in their classes for teachers to grade online. Teachers can also use the district's G Suite for Education applications to allow students to complete some assignments while offline, uploading them when they return to campus.

Chromebooks and iPads rolling out in future years

In 2018-2019, all students in grades 9-12 will have Chromebooks for use at school and at home. In 2019-2020, Chromebooks will be provided for all students in grades 6-12, while additional Chromebook and iPad carts will be provided for students in the elementary schools in later years. (The iPad carts for each elementary school's new STEM Launch modules are being funded by community donations, not bond funds, which must be allocated to secondary Chromebook deployment for several years.)

The locker room renovations at Doenges Stadium are complete

Carpeting and general refreshes at Doenges Stadium

These devices will allow the district to gradually reduce its operating expenses for paper and physical textbooks, although some use of both will be retained. They will also allow the district to eventually phase out non-dedicated computer labs in the secondary schools.

Whew! That's a lot to report on, with much more to come in the future. THANK YOU Bartlesville, for making this possible in this era of inadequate state funding for our public schools.

The pressbox at the stadium has been improved