Community Elementary School

     The 143,000 square-foot Coffeyville Community Elementary School, Coffeyville, Kansas, shares a gymnasium, media center and other facilities with the community. The school has generous corridors, spacious classrooms, and a variety of outdoor and indoor learning areas. Spaces with different scale and tone encourage social interaction on different levels. Large-group rooms bring students from several classes together, and window seats in the corridors provide an opportunity for more intimate discussions. Three courtyards, with various maps stenciled into the patios, teach students lessons about Kansas and world communities. Natural light floods the main corridor, and windows throughout the building offer views of the surrounding community, and help to orient children within the building and the surrounding neighborhood. On the outside, brick and split-faced block walls anchor the visual movement of the horizontally ribbed metal panels. Additional building features include an art room and computer lab, both available for community use. A central kitchen prepares meals for the entire school district. Three FEMA 361-rated "Tornado Safer Areas" provide a safe place for children and the community to take shelter during dangerous weather.

"On February 7, 2000, the board of education passed a bond resolution for $47.5 million, as recommended by the community committee. The accessibility of PBA staff by phone and email and their willingness to be on-site, as needed, played a key role in board support of this resolution and in creating the current community momentum for passing it. They have continued to work with staff to refine the building design. They have helped me assess possible land acquisitions and worked with the city on related infrastructure costs. They remain available to support the financial advisors hired to help with with the bond campaign."

-Dr. Rod Allen, USD 445 Superintendent

Contact: deborahs@pbawichita.com