Ridgeview Middle Prepares for Construction

Parents and faculty at Ridgeview Middle School say a major facilities update project will make life much easier for students and staff. But the construction, which is scheduled to occur throughout the current and following school year, could make life more complicated for the community in the short term.

The planned improvements will include a new heating and air conditioning system, a replacement of the ramp with a grand staircase, science classroom renovation and added trash/recycling rooms. In addition, they will decentralize the lockers for improved circulation, acoustically isolate the cafeteria and relocate the administrative offices to the front of the school. Principal Carol Levine informed families about the plans in the yearly back-to-school packet.

"This project really came about from years of collaboration and planning with the community and school district," Dr. LeVine said in a phone interview. "We are thrilled that it is happening now."

She also stated in a letter to parents at the opening of the school year, "Over the course of two years and three summers, this improvement project will bring about major facility changes. We are committed to frequent, regular communication with the students, staff and families throughout the year."

Ridgeview Middle opened in 1975 and has not had a physical update since then, aside from general maintenance.   

Parents Debbie Reynolds and Lynn Van Pelt agreed that the heating and air systems in the school were in much need of repair, and they are especially pleased with the planned HVAC upgrades.

"When it was hot outside, it would be freezing inside," Van Pelt said. "Then, it would be [hot inside] in the cold weather."

Many teachers moved classrooms over the summer, so that most instruction — except for some science courses — will be held on the main level of the building.

To make room for the construction, some seventh- and eighth-grade classes are being held in four mobile classrooms. All sixth-grade classes will remain in the main building.

"We have to go out the back door, outside, to get over there," said Courtney Van Pelt, a seventh-grader who now attends social studies class in a portable classroom. "It's going to be bad in the winter."

Evacuation routes have been altered, which the students practiced during several fire drills the first week of school.

Levine said there will be a public meeting set up by Montgomery County Public Schools on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. for the Ridgeview community. Parents, students and staff are invited to come and ask questions of the main architect for the project, the Montgomery County Public Schools construction project manager and another staff member from the school district's Division of Construction.

The project was included in the FY 2011-2016 Capital Improvements Program. Fund appropriations for the project were approved for fiscal year 2011.

The construction is on schedule to be completed by August 2012, said James Song, director of facilities for Montgomery schools, in an e-mail.

"Because this is a facility improvements project that has targeted area for space improvements, the construction will occur throughout the school year for next two years," Song said.

Seventh-grade student Michelle Matott said the project has already disrupted life at Ridgeview.

"They blocked off the front rows of lockers," Matott said. "And we have to use lockers in the sixth-grade hall. But nothing's happened yet."

Students and parents were told that there would be a construction wall blocking the ramp that leads to the lower level. That particular wall is not currently in place, but other work has begun in the downstairs part of the building, which is currently cut off from students. Last week, a wall was constructed in the Media Center overnight.

The school has taken steps to ensure students are not distracted by the construction, Levine said. Work will take place from 4 p.m. to midnight, and no construction personnel will be on campus during school hours.

"The kids won't see anything until the construction walls go up on the main floor," Levine said. "[The scheduling] is intended to NOT impact the daily lives of the students."

The late afternoon and evening construction schedule will affect part of the community, though, as other groups will not be able to use the school after hours for such things as meetings or concerts from elementary schools. There will be limited use for the school's parent meetings, including PTSA, NAACP Parent Council and Hispanic Parents in the cafeteria, and a schedule has been worked out with the builders to allow for important events, such as Back to School Night.