Pie-shaped buildings, small classrooms: Why rebuilding Wichita’s Coleman is on the ballot
Editor’s note: Before voters decide on a $450 million Wichita school bond issue on Feb. 25, The Eagle is profiling many of the schools affected. Read more profiles and find continuing coverage of the bond issue election here.
On a rainy day at Coleman Environmental Magnet, or when the snow is melting after a winter storm, it’s not unusual to see trashcans collecting water in the common areas.
“One area, they came in, and it looked like a waterfall. That’s how much water was coming,” Principal Karen Waterman-Overgaard said.
The middle school near 13th and Rock is one of seven slated to be rebuilt pending the outcome of the upcoming bond issue election. It has 630 students.
The building’s unique architecture creates some difficulties. It’s made up of several circular buildings joined together, making the hallways rounded and hard to monitor student behavior, especially during passing periods, Waterman-Overgaard said.
“It’s hard to keep people safe. Middle schoolers, especially our younger kids, love to run,” she said. “They can’t see around the corner, so they have, in the past, taken staff out. I mean, they’ve run smack dab into them, and they have been hurt.”
What’s it like inside current Coleman Middle School?
Like many of the older buildings in USD 259, most of the classrooms at Coleman are smaller. At the middle school, classrooms are made up of “slices” of the circular, pie-shaped buildings.
The district said it’s necessary to make classrooms bigger as schools transition away from lecture-style teaching.
Coleman is a science and technology magnet, and the school’s principal said she’d like the classrooms at the new building to reflect that.
“I think that our kids are going to be fabulous. They’re very resilient, but I would love to be able to give them an opportunity to have a learning space that is the best around.”
What Coleman parents have to say
Parents Todd and Anne Lewis are putting their second child through Coleman.
“It’s an environmental school, and kids and teachers … They all deserve the best environment,” Anne Lewis said. “If that means building something different or improving what you have, whatever can be done, I mean, they all deserve the best.”
Details for the new building have yet to be announced, but documents provided by the school district estimate it could cost around $75 million.
The district said students would be able to attend classes in the current building while the new middle school is built on the lot next to it. A projected timeline has the new school opening by late 2027.
The current building is slated to be repurposed after the new building is completed. It would be renovated at an estimated cost of $1 million to house Chester Lewis Learning Academy and several other alternative learning programs.
Other schools that would be torn down and rebuilt are Adams, Black, Caldwell, Irving and McLean elementary schools and Truesdell Middle School.
In addition to rebuilding schools, the district would convert two elementary schools to K-8 schools, consolidate alternative schools and close four elementary schools and two administration centers. It would build new outdoor athletic fields at Northeast Magnet High School, a new Future Ready Center for Trades at East High school and a new early childhood education center.
The bond election will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25.