Reed alumni, families invited for 'final walk' through middle school hallways Tuesday

Reed Academy alumni and families connected to the middle school have been invited to take a final walk through the hallways Tuesday.

The come-and-go event called "Closing Down the Beaver Dam" — a nod to the school mascot — is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. at 2000 N. Lyons Ave.

"This is really the heart of the community. It is about providing an education to kids, first and foremost, but also providing a safe place for the community to go for whatever it is they need because we believe in the wraparound care," said Principal Sara Strohm, noting it is not uncommon for multiple generations of the same families to attend or for former students to teach at Reed.

"The people who work here are really entrenched. We have several people who staff who went to Reed and they come back to work here because they feel called to serve the community they came from. They left and they come back. That is very telling."

The last day of the Springfield school year is Thursday.

After that, work will begin to make way for the Reed Academy of Fine and Performing Arts to be built on the same campus, the corner of Lyons Avenue and Atlantic Street.

The $59.4 million project, the most expensive part of the $220 million bond issue approved by voters in April, will include a new school for grades 6-8.

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The new building will include safety and accessibility upgrades including a storm shelter that will be used by the district during the school day and opened to the neighborhood during the evening and on weekends when severe weather threatens.

The design, which is still being finalized, will include larger common spaces to accommodate students and staff as well as community gatherings.

Strohm said the architects for the project have been working on ways to reflect the history of the existing building in the design of the new school.

Asked if historical items will be salvaged, as the district has done with other project, she said that remains a work in progress.

"They have really taken that to heart," she said of the design team. "Specific items have not been officially selected but they are going through a whole lot."

Originally constructed in 1923, the mission of the 100-year-old school has expanded over the decades.

In 2010, the middle school added an accelerated academic track for students who want to take advanced courses to get a jumpstart on high school.

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The school, long known for the quality of its fine and performing arts programs, will expand options starting this fall.

The existing Reed building is slated for demolition, although a date for that work has not been announced publicly. It is expected to occur over the summer.

Until the new building is constructed and opens, Reed students will go to class at the former Jarrett Middle School building on Jefferson Avenue, just north of Grand Street.

Strohm said Reed expects to be in that building for two years. During that period, students who live within the Reed attendance boundaries and are enrolled at Reed will receive busing to the temporary location.

However, the families of students who live outside the Reed zone and attend the middle school as a transfer student will still have to provide transportation.

"They've been packing. As soon as the bond issue passed, we wanted to give everybody as much time as possible so they are packing up any items that need to go with them to what we are calling 'Reed South.' They are removing their personal items," she said. "The district will have people who will be moving district-owned items that will be needed in the temporary building."

Pipkin is the other middle school that will be built as part of the bond issue. However, students will remain in the existing building while a new structure is constructed on East Pythian Street, near U.S. 65.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Reed alumni, families invited for 'final walk' through school Tuesday