Forest Hills Central is undergoing significant construction over the summer and throughout the upcoming years, as the high school is updating its classrooms and halls for the first time in over 40 years. However, with this updated version of the high school being established, issues and specific construction demands have also arisen with the promise of new infrastructure. The most important of which is the movement and shuffle of teachers from their current classrooms to new locations.
For some teachers, this change provides an opportunity to reorganize and redo classrooms while getting a much-needed technological update, while others will miss their decorated classrooms. Numerous classrooms at FHC are home to painted bricks and ceiling tiles from past graduating classes and students. Some walls are decorated with subject-appropriate murals, and others are shout-outs to seniors and their committed college of choice in the form of painted bricks. Either way, these bricks and walls will likely have to be destroyed in order for the construction to commence.
For physics teacher Amy Stone, who is moving from Room 227 to Room 219, the construction updates mean losing a precious space that has personalized her classroom significantly, as well as the ability to do certain labs due to a classroom that is not science-specific.
“I am losing the space mural done by the art club outside of my room, and I am really bummed about that,” Stone said. “[The construction] will be a difficult transition for both students and teachers.”
Additionally, teachers will also have to pack up their classrooms entirely, which can be a long and tedious process, while also providing an opportunity to reorganize some areas. Many teachers have recognized the clutter that can appear from numerous years of teaching in the same classroom, and the moving process can impact teachers both positively and negatively.
Chemistry teacher Bob Vandenberg, who is moving down the hall from Room 230 to Room 221, feels that the construction will come at a great benefit for the school and that the end results will be promising after students and faculty settle into new locations after the long-awaited and potentially frustrating construction process.
“One benefit for moving is being able to get rid of stuff,” Vandenberg said. “Teachers seem to collect a lot of things. [A potential] downside is packing everything up and moving, and then unpacking when the construction is done.”
The new construction plans create some other hindrances for the FHC faculty as well. Namely, the noise, dust, and chaos will be significant factors that can impact learning and the teachers’ workdays. With consistent construction being completed not only during the summer but also during school days, some students may become distracted by the constant commotion.
For English teacher Anthony Sultini, the construction in the school promises new advancements and updates while also creating a more distraction-prone environment that could become an issue in the upcoming school years.
“I am looking forward to seeing how our school can be modernized, but I am not looking forward to three years of distraction,” Sultini said. “A classroom that we spend so much time in year after year becomes like a second home in a way, so leaving it is a bummer.”
With a high-quality appearance comes numerous adjustments that may seem frustrating originally, but in the big picture, they will lead to a better-designed and planned-out school campus for the upcoming school years.
Although scheduling is not directly affected by the switches in classrooms made by teachers next year, students who have spent years in FHC already may struggle to find teachers’ rooms in the new locations. It will take some adjusting, but the changes in room layout amongst teachers shouldn’t cause too many issues for the student body. While the changes in campus layout may be easy to overcome with time, learning in the classroom will definitely be affected for the duration of the construction.
“This will be a difficult transition for both students and teachers,” Stone said. “Some of the labs I normally do in physics might need to be done as online simulations due to my new, temporary classroom.”
For teachers who have spent years in one place, their classrooms often represent their own personalities and the way they prefer to have their classrooms structured. Whether that is through personalized remnants from past students, funny slogans and posters, or simply the layout of the room, each teacher has their own preferences, and their room reflects that.
The construction may impact the personalization of teachers’ classrooms, yet there will always be opportunities to restructure their rooms as they want in the upcoming years, just with less clutter and fewer extra supplies.
“The best part of staying in one place is getting the room just the way you want it,” Vandenberg said. “I would prefer to stay, but I know that there is great benefit in moving. I really like the charm and character of the school. I am sure that once the construction is done, it will look great.”
No matter what room a teacher is in, who has the best construction updates, or if the most efficient hallway route is temporarily blocked for a semester, the construction for the school will overall create a more developed and modernized environment for students and faculty.
It will definitely be a challenge for the students and teachers to adjust to the changes coming to FHC as room assignments are shuffled around. However, the construction updates to the school will make the FHC campus a more modernized version of its past self, an update that has been strongly called for in recent years.
“It always takes time to get accustomed to new things, and it will be most difficult in the beginning,” Sultini said. “However, like everything, we will get used to it, and it won’t even be a second thought soon afterward.”
