Carson Shoemaker, second grade, poses with dad Scott in front of Cottonwood Elementary. Photos by Joshua Cole.
By Joshua Cole
Around the time of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” most people disagreed with Roger Waters’s assessment about education – yes, people believed, we did need education – but many education leaders did agree with another assessment – we should tear down the walls. Open classrooms were encouraged, intended to create a collaborative, cooperative, communal environment.
A few decades later, things have changed. Education leaders want to build up the walls.
Cottonwood Creek Elementary School, on East Orchard Road near South Havana Street, is one of those schools that have changed its philosophy. Originally opened in 1976, Cottonwood was redesigned over the summer. On Aug. 23, Principal Mary Shay and five students cut the ribbon to reopen the school and officially start the 2010-11 school year for the Cherry Creek School District.
Instead of classrooms with part of at least one or two walls removed, each classroom is completely walled in. Hallway restrooms and sinks are easier to access rather than hidden in an alcove far down a hallway. Teachers have small offices so they have an option of doing clerical work somewhere besides the classroom. Each grade level has multiple rooms that can used for pull-out or intervention work.
Cottonwood Creek Elementary School Principal Mary Shay cuts the ribbon in front of the school following reconstruction over the summer, during which most of the interior was redesigned.
Solar light tubes brighten every classroom by reflecting the sky’s free, natural light, and it can be augmented with fluorescent lighting.
The redesign was a $3.2 million project as part of the bond that voters passed in 2008. Cottonwood was one of 13 elementary schools and 17 schools total to get summer renovations. Also part of the bond, Pine Ridge Elementary School was completed over the summer and opened Aug. 23 near Southlands Mall.
“The classrooms are very different. It’s cool,” said Isabel Anema, a Cottonwood fifth grader. When Anema, who had a tour of the school before starting, described the new classrooms to her friends, they couldn’t contain their excitement.
Anema’s favorite part of her school is the lunchroom. In the past, students who bought lunch had to line up in the hallway next to the library then cross another hallway to get into the lunchroom. Now, the lunch line and dining tables are in one room.
“I like eating lunch because all of my friends are there,” Anema said.
