Recently, Delevan Drive Elementary School became an International Baccalaureate (IB) school; with this, they have integrated the IB’s Primary Years Programme (PYP) into its curriculum, and they’ve begun to remodel the physical campus. If you drive by the school, you’ll see support beams which are the foundation of the school’s new, sleek, and modern building. This transformation is extremely exciting for the school community, as the updated campus will be a truly beautiful addition to the neighborhood. In the end, the goal is to have fifteen new classrooms and a new lunch area— along with other improvements.
Prior to the construction and demolition work, fifty year old bungalows served as classrooms for Delevan students. For graduated Koalas (the school’s mascot), these buildings hold memories of their first grade classrooms, and other nostalgia. The campus, as you would’ve seen it before the construction, was built in 1973; however, the original Delevan campus was built in 1926, and took up land on the hillside. It was shaken by an earthquake in the mid-1900s which is why they rebuilt the school in the 70s. The only remaining part of the original building is a cupola which is by the auditorium.
Today, almost 100 years after the construction of the original school, Delevan is undergoing a massive renovation. Due to the large-scale nature of this new construction project, the school community has been extremely resilient. The project involved the demolition of all bungalow buildings which were home to around half of the school’s teachers. Many classrooms have been relocated to areas where there is no construction going on, and students have adapted to a smaller playground area. Students have also been able to let their curiosity shine through observing the construction on a daily basis. They are able to see the construction progress on the second floor of the school’s main building— watching the machinery at work and slowly, but surely, seeing their new school building come together.
On Wednesday, February 19th, Delevan Drive students and staff were able to participate in a truly special event which they called “Girder Palooza.” Since the construction reached the stage where support beams (girders) for the main building were beginning to be installed, the school’s construction partners offered the school community the opportunity to all sign a support beam. Throughout the day, teachers and students were able to sign the support beam in colorful markers which marks the moment in time and captures the legacy of the current school community. Then, that Friday, the students participated in a “Girder Flyaway” event where the girder was actually installed into the school.
How cool is it to think that, years from now, beneath a beautiful, new building, will be the signatures of students and teachers who witnessed the construction take place. They have been immortalized in their school’s skeleton forever!
We look forward to seeing the completion of the construction project. It is expected to be completed around the summer of 2026. Until then, enjoy some images of students and staff signing the girder! Yay Girder Palooza!
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