YOUNGSTOWN Ritual marks start of East Side school

The district plans three more groundbreakings in coming weeks.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Eighth-grader Imani Al-Deen wasn't sure if she could believe it when she heard that Youngstown was going to build a new middle school and high school on the East Side.
Tuesday, she was more convinced.
The East Middle School pupil was one of several who grabbed a gold shovel and turned dirt at the groundbreaking of the P. Ross Berry Middle School on Bryn Mawr Avenue near Mariner Avenue.
"I'm just happy that there will be a new school and our district is going to look better," Imani said. "If we had more things improved, maybe people would have a better attitude. ... I hope so."
Work will begin
The groundbreaking means work will soon begin on the $12.1 million school, expected to open in fall 2005. It replaces the middle school built in 1925 on East High Avenue, which will be razed to make way for the new East High School.
Each day, $2 million is spent in Ohio on new buildings, said Gary Kasper, a project administrator for the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
Once work on the new school is complete, he added, "the work of educating children can begin."
The middle school is part of a $182 million facilities improvement project. Work has also begun on Harding Elementary School on the North Side and Taft Elementary School on the South Side.
The groundbreaking for West Elementary is slated for Tuesday, and groundbreakings for the new East High School and Chaney High School renovations should follow within the next few weeks.
City Councilman Rufus Hudson, D-2nd, said the construction represents a revitalization of the "suburb within the city." Besides the new middle and high school, the East Side will see a new North Elementary, as well as renovations at Mary Haddow Elementary.
About the architect
Berry, a black brick mason and architect, designed many of Youngstown's buildings in the late 1800s. Ella R. Robinson, whose husband was the great-great grandson of P. Ross Berry, said the memorial is fitting.
"He really never concentrated on adversity. ... He developed a skill, and he came as close to perfecting it as possible, and there's no reason any of them can't achieve the same thing he did," she said. "We're pleased. And I'm sure P. Ross is somewhere smiling."
Also on hand were school board members, Superintendent Benjamin L. McGee and East Middle School Principal Larry Spires.
McGee told students to "know all there is to know about P. Ross Berry."
"Take the challenge of 'What would P. Ross Berry do if he was among us today? What would he be about doing for the community?'"
"It's about you. It's not about anyone else," added board member Tracey Winbush. "You're going to go into these schools, and academic excellence is a must."
Other development
Board President Lock P. Beachum Sr. said he recalled 10 years ago when ground was broken for the Beachwood Village and he and other city council members said it would be the beginning of a "mecca" for the East Side. He said he also recalled when the Ohio State Penitentiary was built on state Route 616.
"Now we're getting ready to build a $12.2 million school right here and a $32.8 million [high] school down the street," he said. "We want this school to keep people from that other place on 616."
viviano@vindy.com