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Home My WebLink AboutForest Ridge Elementary Mo're than 500 students will attend the new Forest Ridge Elementary School this year. Eagle photo Dave McDermand - ----~- y Forest t " tiF:?.....ro'\m.'. .. G:. ....: . ...... '.1 . . '.. .. ::;::__._.::l "__ ,-:::-: ::.' The Bryan-College Station Eagle Sunday, July 31, 2005 -Forest Ridge-ready for its debut this fall . By HOLLY HUFFMAN Eagle Staff Writer Ridge Elementary School. A little more than two wegks from now, more than 500 For- est Ridge Falcons are expected to fill the newly constructed' campus as its doors open to students for the first time. The $12 million, 85,553- · square-foot school just off In 2003, College Station's sixth elementary school exist- ed only in the minds of archi- tects and on their blueprints. A short dirt driveway lead-. ing to a thick patch of trees serveq. as the only. marker for the future home of Forest See FOREST, Page G7 pn sc e,s{ av'oi . i~.r aqdedJ said M4ke Bali,CQlJege Sta- tion's deputy soperIntendent for busi- ness aAdaperationS. original plans (;aMedi: for the road- work and sc.nPQlblJiI.ding ool1lstTlICtion to be OAfflPtet~,atthe ~.tj!llle~ but hemiy rains. defayedi lHe tn~tlcoo- ~%.,:~u~~a~rl:~ Greens Prairie Road has 43 classrooms, math and science labs, an art studio complete with kiln,' an enrichment room for gifted and talented students and a central court- yard for science experiments. "Isn't it beautiful?" Princi- pal Terresa Katt asked during a recent interview, spinning around the new cafeteria as she threw her arms into the air. "There's so much light. So much space." . On a cloudy day two weeks ago, construction crews rushed around the creme- stone and red-brick exterior pushing to finish project~ before t:he school opened July 25. InsIde, workers did the same, putting fmishing touch- es on rooms and hallways. Each section of the Duilding represents a Texas region. Trimmed in blues and green the kindergarten wing ha~ been deemed the Gulf Coast region. Second -graders will attend classes in the Piney Woods wing. The front office adorned in sage and plum, i~ supposed to be reminiscent of the Hill Country and Big Bend areas. "You ?ave to see the gym," ~att saId, excitedly ushering ill a group of people for a quick tour. "We feel like we have a really wonderful place to have kids run and exercise. ': Katt has worked in College Station for just over a decade starting at South Knoll Ele~ mentary School as an assis- tant principal. She was pro- moted that same fall to princi- pal, a post she held for four years before being named assistant superintendent for staff development. She held the central office position until this year. Though it is uncommon for an high-level administrator to return to work at a campus Katt said she asked for th~ principal job at Forest Ridge. It was a request she made after much reflection, she said. "I've missed direct, day-in, day-out contact with students and teachers," she said while . Holly Huffmarl's e-mail address walking the halls of the new is holly.huffman@theeagle.com. school. In her fonner post, Katt said, she was able to offer opportunities to teachers by coordinating staff develop- ment sessionS. While she enjoyed her job, her return to school prmcip<u will allow her to delve deeper into staff train- ing, provide ~upport for her teachers and ~'atch the results unfold, she said. "I've never opened a school ' before, so thB is a fabulous opportunity for me," she said. The school was built with ' money from a 1998 bond elec- tion and has a capacity of 650 students. Katt said about 60 people will be employed at the school, the m~jority of whom are teachers. Twelve of the educators are new to the dis- trict, and the remainder are being transferred from other schools in the district. On a Thursday just over two weeks ago,' small cardboard boxes still were piled atop each other in each classroom. Furniture was being unloaded and asseml)led. Library shelves were empty. And exte- rior landscaping wasn't quite complete. But in a matter of days, the shelves would be stocked, classrooms would be adorned with back-to-school decora- tions and: lu~h, green grass would cover b;lrren, dirt medi- ans in the par}{ing lot. "We're chomping at the bit to open these doors," Katt said at the time. "It's not quite ready yet, but it will be soon. "