Rachel Carson Elementary debuts
August 21, 2008
By J.B. Wogan
Mary Cronin, principal of Rachel Carson Elementary, stands in a vacant resource room. Carson will be the third Sammamish school with a room designed to address students with special needs. Photo by J.B.WoganWhen Rachel Carson Elementary opens its doors for the first time Sept. 2, it might be the greenest elementary school in Sammamish.
Carson, the Lake Washington School District’s newest elementary school, will debut with several state-of-the-art eco-friendly installations.
The school’s two green roofs have a layer of draught-resistant plants and soil that is designed to absorb runoff and serve as a natural insulator.
Seven rain garden plantings dispersed throughout the school campus will further regulate runoff and storm water. Those rain garden plantings are comprised of sandy soil and a mixture of native plants that can survive in wet and dry conditions, according to Kathryn Reith, the district’s director of communications.
Carson will also have cement flooring, electric fans and geothermal heaters all of which will regulate the school’s temperature in a more efficient manner, according to Forrest Miller, director of support services at the district.
“Everybody wants to save energy. Everyone’s looking at ways to conserve,” explained Mary Cronin, the principal at Carson.
A $17.3-million project, the school will house about 520 students, with the majority coming as transfers from other Sammamish elementary schools.
About 60 percent of the new school’s student body will come from neighboring Samantha Smith Elementary.
In addition to its energy-saving features, Carson will be fitted with hi-tech equipment inside the classroom.
The school will have wireless Internet access, digital projectors in every classroom and a computer lab housing 30 computers.
For students with learning disabilities or special needs, there will also be a resource room – sometimes referred to as a sensory room – with pull-down walls to adjust the size and intimacy of the space. The same room can become three small and separate rooms, one large room, or a variation of the two.
Cronin arrives in Sammamish with 10 years of experience as principal of Benjamin Franklin Elementary in Kirkland.
“I thought it would be fun, exciting – a challenge – it’s been all those things,” she said.
One of the reasons she decided to change schools was the unusual amount of control she had over staff hirings as a new school’s principal. Not only did she have full reign in selecting her core staff – about 11 teachers – but she played a role in choosing the rest of her faculty as well. Carson will have 26 teachers and one part-time counselor.
The faculty will have a range of experience levels, from three first-year teachers to one woman who has taught for 31 years.
Students transferring from other Sammamish schools might recognize familiar teachers at Carson. In all, 10 teachers will transfer from Sammamish elementary schools: Six from Smith, three from Christa McAuliffe Elementary and one from Louisa Alcott Elementary.
Aesthetically, signs of Carson’s predetermined astronomy theme linger in its design.
Out front, constellations litter the sidewalk. On the two ends of the second-floor hallway, three-dimensional versions of the sun and moon frame the walkway like ends of a bookcase.
Of the 22 classrooms at Carson, the average space will be about 900-square feet, though the kindergarten rooms will be slightly larger, according to Cronin.
Aside from the school’s main facility, two portables sit on the north end of the campus, with two classrooms in each portable.
In addition to an enclosed kindergarten play area, the school will have a playground and two outdoor basketball courts on the eastside of the building, with a third basketball court inside the gym.
The parking lot will have 44 spaces, in addition to three extra spots for handicapped parking. In the mornings and afternoons, parents will be able to drive into a drop-off circle around the parking lot.
Cronin said the school will be an “all-bussing” school; only nearby students in the Tree Farm neighborhood could walk safely to campus.
In the future, Carson will serve as the feeder school for Inglewood Junior High. The campuses abut one another and share a bus driveway.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
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BTW, I noticed there’s another Rachel Carson Elementary:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/rachelcarsones/