Photo by Sarah Finnegan
Maggie Shivers, left, and Emma Gallups work together on a Code-A-Pillar in the new STEM Lab at Oak Mountain Elementary School.
Chelsea is one of the fastest growing cities in Alabama, according to data released in May by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The city’s population is about 13,000 according to the Bureau’s estimates, up 28 percent since 2010.
“Chelsea is growing by leaps and bounds, which I guess is a good problem to have,” Chelsea High School Principal Wayne Trucks said.
But that growth puts pressure on administrators like Trucks to make sure their schools can make enough room for the children of young parents moving to the city.
Seeking to accommodate rising enrollment, Chelsea High School will begin the new academic year with a new, two-story wing on the school’s northeast side. The wing — which replaces nine old portable classrooms, features 19 classrooms — a couple of teacher workrooms and a new science lab, according to Trucks.
And the new wing not only helps the school resolve its capacity issue, at least temporarily, according to Trucks. It also means a better education for students who would have otherwise taken classes in the old portables, he said.
Construction began in March 2017 and was finished this July, according to Trucks. The addition, which cost about $5 million, was built by Boatner Construction of Gadsden.
Trucks, who became a teacher at Chelsea High School in 2007 and principal in 2013, has witnessed the school’s rapid growth.
In 2007, the school had about 700 students. In fall 2018, the school will have about 1,250 students. Even with the new addition — the second large addition made to the school since 2010 — Chelsea High School has little room to spare, according to Trucks.
“We will still have a full building,” he said. “We are meeting the needs, but we are still growing as a zone.”
One benefit of the addition is a second science lab, “which allows us to meet the needs of our department,” Trucks said.
Perhaps the most important advantage of the new wing is that it gives students full access to modern, indoor classrooms.
The old portables suffered from spotty Wi-Fi access and greater vulnerability to interruptions caused by severe weather, according to Trucks.
“Having everyone under one roof will be really neat for us,” he said.
Trucks said he’s “looking forward” to the new facility “because it will help kids be successful.”
If the school needs to expand again in the future, the area on the property where the nine trailers were located has been cleared,according to Trucks.
“That would be the natural place for any future additions,” he said.
OMES STEM lab
In the 2018-19 school year, the students at Oak Mountain Elementary School will have access to a fully equipped STEM lab called the STEM Innovation Station.
Teachers at the school “are passionate about providing the very best science, technology, engineering and math opportunities in an age-appropriate environment,” said Principal Debbie Horton in a news release.
The STEM Innovation Station was funded using a nearly $79,000 Toolbox for Education grant from the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.
The grant was announced in June 2017. The lab is complete and ready for the new term, according to Cindy Warner, public relations supervisor for Shelby County Schools.
The lab includes a fully stocked kitchen, Dash and Dot robotics, Legos/maker space activities, Chromebooks, OSMO coding system to be used on iPads and an interactive whiteboard.
The teachers “are dedicated to preparing their students for future jobs that have yet to be created,” Horton said.
