Clark upgrades have students feeling more proud of their school

Clark High School senior Billy Wang used to keep a sweat shirt in his locker during the hottest months in case he got cold. It might have been triple digits outside, but he could always count on a few of his classrooms being "freezing" cold. Another senior, Jacqi Hammel, brought a blanket to her classes for the same reason.

During winter, Hammel said it was so hot in some rooms that it stopped class cold.

"Sometimes teachers just would not teach that day because it's so brutally hot," Hammel said. "We would be sweating in class, and no one could focus."

Those days are over at Clark, 4291 W. Pennwood Ave., after the completion of $33 million in renovations. The school reopened its entire campus Jan. 7 for the first time in a year and a half. The school was closed in sections and students placed in 38 portables outside while the renovations were completed.

Clark replaced its heating and air-conditioning systems, installed energy-efficient lighting, replaced the kitchen, modernized classrooms with multimedia systems, replaced lockers, added wireless Internet schoolwide, added new paint and carpet and more.

But it is the simple things that these students appreciate. Wang was giddy about the new lights.

"We were amazed by the smallest things, like a light that could dim," he said.

Although lights that dim might not seem like a big deal, Hammel said it is helpful when teachers use the projectors because students now can see the notes they are taking.

Even the restrooms had students excited.

Before renovation, "It was boiling hot in the bathrooms, so it smelled so bad all the time," Hammel said. "It was so gross."

Senior Nicolas Vaughn echoed Hammel's evaluation.

"Most of the time at public schools, you go to the bathrooms, and it's a creepy place," he said. "They're really nice now. It's pretty cool."

Clark was built in 1965 and, for the most part, has been well-maintained, said principal Jill Pendleton. She said the renovations would probably increase student achievement because some of the science classrooms, for example, did not have working gas or water, which "was a huge barrier for students' success."

"I think the upgraded science labs will really upgrade the delivery of curriculum," Pendleton said.

The project was paid for by some of the last funds remaining from a 1998 voter-approved bond program that raised $4.9 billion to build more than 100 schools and renovate others. The school also added 160 computers in labs throughout the school, including in the Jimmy Kimmel Technology Center. Kimmel, host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC and a Clark graduate, recently donated computers to the school.

And there is one more benefit not measured by statistics, Pendleton said, but affirmed with an eye test.

"I think when you have a nicer building, intrinsically students feel proud of their school," she said. "I'm sure that would have a positive impact on the student morale or climate of the school. It's human nature."

And students agreed. Hammel said, "Clark always had the illusion of being this dumpy, crappy place to be."

Vaughn said students use the same principle on "college visits."

"You're not going to go to a college that's all run down," he said. "You go visit a college so you can (see if) it's a nice place with a nice atmosphere that's positive for learning and education."

Pendleton said applications to the school's magnet programs have increased significantly over last year, and she suspects the new technology will garner more student interest.

"It pretty much feels like a new school," Vaughn said. "Everything's sparkly and new."

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 702-224-5524.