$12.5M elementary school dedicated
When former College of Education and Human Services Dean Gerry Giordano asked students of the Edith Bowen Laboratory School to clap if they were happy with their new school during its dedication ceremony Monday, all 305 of them erupted in applause.
Giordano, now a provost at the University of North Florida, told students the goals of the school were to provide “a place to learn about the world and be safe and happy,” as both the school and the Emma Eccles Jones Center for Early Childhood Learning were dedicated Monday, after more than two years of construction and $12.5 million in donations from the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation.
“We were able to respond with a measure of support that was able to bring this about,” Rick Lawson, a board member for the foundation, said of the donation.
“This is a big moment for the college of education,” Interim CEHS Dean Carroll Strong said. “It’s because of their donation that we have these beautiful buildings.”
During the ceremony, Utah State University President Kermit L. Hall said the school, one of only four First Amendment, project elementary schools, was “not of what has been, but what is to come.”
“There is, in hockey, the phrase ‘skate to the puck.’ That means you skate to the future,” Hall said. “[Being a First Amendment school] means not only that the expression of ideas is a value, but tolerance of that expression is essential in skating toward that puck.”
Lawson, who is also Jones’ nephew, recounted a story for those in attendance that he said his aunt used to tell to him when he was a child.
“All the best stories begin ‘once upon a time,'” he said. “Indeed once upon a time there was a vision and that vision has become a reality.”
Officials also unveiled a sculpture by Kraig Varner of Jones reading to two children. The sculpture includes empty chairs and Lawson said he would invite students to sit on the chairs and listen to “Aunt Em” tell them a story.
“You can almost hear it, ‘once upon a time,'” Lawson said. “We look forward to all the exciting stories to come.”
With laptop computers for every student, worldwide satellite capabilities allowing students to collaborate on projects with schools in Japan and a weekly, student-produced newscast, Hall said the school is the greatest achievement of a college already ranked 38th in the nation.
“This College of Education is perhaps the finest we have on campus,” Hall said.
Utah’s Poet Laureate, Kenneth Brewer read a poem he wrote for the school’s dedication titled “Convergence of Five for the Children.”
The poem told of Edith Bowen and Jones’ financial sacrifice for the schools, how Jones donated her salary to buy school supplies, and of Anne Carroll Moore, a Newberry author, who donated books for the school’s library.
The poem will be engraved on a plaque and displayed in the school’s atrium.
Following a seven minute presentation featuring photos of the school and its founders, the students of Edith Bowen congregated on stage to perform three musical selections.
During the performance, Giordano told the children they were what he missed most about Utah.
“Do you remember those Little Blue luncheons we had, those wonderful desserts?,” he said. “I miss those too.”
Utah Governor Olene Walker was also in attendance for the dedication. Strong said Walker has been a passionate advocate for children’s literature programs in the state.
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