Edith Bowen Lab School under construction
Edith Bowen Laboratory School will be going under construction this June because the current building Edith Bowen is currently housed in does not have enough space or the infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the program.
The new building will also house the Emma Eccles Jones Center for Early Childhood Education, said Sue McCormick a staff assistant to Principal Kaye Rhees.
Rhees said the funding for this huge construction project started when school officials approached the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation. The group chose to appropriate funds for a brand new building and gave the school $12.5 million.
“We didn’t have to do any fundraising. It’s a totally funded building and a tribute to Emma Eccles Jones and to Edith Bowen,” Rhees said.
This new construction will be very beneficial to USU students as well.
“Part of the school’s mission includes supporting the College of Education by providing a place for collegiates to do observations, complete classroom assignments and practicums in elementary education,” McCormick said.
“In addition to this department, the school currently supports similar activities for students in health, physical education, special education, nutrition and food sciences, music, natural resources, fine arts, business and psychology,” she said. “Last year more than 800 collegiates did some part of their course work at the school. The school is also used as a research sight for many university projects, incorporating partnerships between various colleges on campus,” she said.
“The school [also] houses the Anne Carroll Moore Library. This is the university’s collection of children’s literature, and is open to all collegiates on campus,” she said.
Angie Seal, a freshman elementary education major, said, “I am excited to see the outcome of this new building because by the time that I do my practicum I will be able to benefit from the opportunities that the facility will have to offer.”
Rhees said, “You could ask why do you need $12 million, I mean that is outrageous, but we are not just an elementary school facility. The auditorium will be used for productions, it becomes I believe the second- or the third-largest auditorium on campus so I am sure that there will be performances for college-level students. I am sure there will be classes held over here as well, not just Edith Bowen classes.
“We are heavily involved with pre-service training and not just for elementary education either. We have special education majors that work here; we have psychology majors that work here as well,” she said. “Three years ago we developed an alliance with family life and some of them come over and do practicum experience here, too.”
McCormick said, “Some of the goals that they are hoping to accomplish through this construction are to increase the number of classrooms; providing classrooms for art, music, orchestra and language, as well as a math/science lab; separate space for the cafeteria and gymnasium; and an auditorium that will seat the entire student body. The infrastructure within the new building will be capable of supporting state-of-the-art technology for several decades to come. The building will also house the EEJECC, which will include office space and rooms for parent/teacher training opportunities.”
The construction has been in the plans for approximately four years and is scheduled to begin in June of this year. It will be done in two phases and should be finished within three years, McCormick said.
Rhees said the groundbreaking will be June 4 in the afternoon and then they will go right to work.