NEW CITY SCHOOL Above-ground work started

P. Ross Berry Middle School will open in September 2006.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Now that the foundation has been set for a new middle school on the city's East Side, the above-ground construction work will soon get under way.
Terry McCoy, of Hanahan Strollo & amp; Associates of Boardman, presented a diagram at Tuesday's board of education meeting outlining what P. Ross Berry Middle School will look like.
How many pupils
The two-story, 97,000-square-foot school, part of a $200 million schools construction project, will be open to about 700 pupils in grades five through eight in September 2006, McCoy noted.
In addition to the foundation being completed, McCoy said, site preparation work is finished and underground utilities have been laid.
Construction of the middle school, estimated to cost about $11.6 million, should start next April or May, he added. The school will be adjacent to North Elementary School at 2724 Mariner Ave.
12 new facilities
The schools project entails 12 new facilities being built in the district as well as renovations to Chaney High School, Kirkmere Elementary School and Choffin Career Center. Two of the schools, the new West and Williamson elementary schools, should be ready by next September and December, respectively, Superintendent Wendy Webb noted.
Webb praised several programs the school district has implemented to improve reading and several other life skills. Each of the district's elementary and middle schools have math coaches to help pupils with math problems, which also has the added benefit of improving reading skills, she noted.
Partner with KSU
Last September, the district formed a partnership with Kent State University to create a Scantron program for those in kindergarten through eighth grade, Webb pointed out. The idea is to identify and assess where pupils need help and to revise teaching techniques to address those areas, she said.
"It helps the teacher do skills building" and to group pupils who need help in a skill together while grouping others in another area," Webb said.
The Youngstown Adult Basic Literacy & amp; Education program recently formed a partnership with Hope VI and will be opening a new site in January.
ABLE's new location will be in the Hope VI Westlake Terrace Community Resource Center, 976 Martin Luther King Blvd.
ABLE offers free classes to those in need of receiving their GED, job retraining and basic skills remediation. Those interested in attending the free classes need to attend a two-day registration at Choffin Career Center. Registration is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays at the career center, 200 E. Wood St.