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‘A new school, a new attitude’
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Cutting the ribbon on MLK elementary are, L-R, Cathy Dorbish, Taazmayis Briggs and her daughter Paris Marks, 6, both of Youngstown, Loch Beachum and Youngstown BOE member Mike Murphy.
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Principal Cathy Dorvish welcomed the neighborhood into the New MLK elementary school Sunday, September 21, 2008.
The new MLK Jr. Elementary in Youngstown serves about 450 pupils.
YOUNGSTOWN — Cathy Dorbish, principal of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, challenged parents, grandparents and community residents in her remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday in front of the new school building at 2724 Mariner Ave.
“Don’t let this be the first and last visit. We don’t do it alone,” she said.
She quoted the Civil Rights leader and namesake of the school, who said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. ... Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.”
Dorbish asked of people in the school district, “Please be the people to make it happen.”
Dorbish was among those who spoke before the ribbon cutting at the school, the 11th of 15 new and renovated facilities in the Youngstown City School District. She has worked for 10 years as a teacher and has 11 years as an administrator.
M. Mike McNair, community relations director in the school district, acted as master of ceremonies, introducing other participants in the program:
UDr. Wendy Webb, superintendent, also mentioned the need for volunteers in the districtwide Parent Patrol, whose members make daily calls to parents to get comments and concerns. She pointed out the unprecedented building and renovation effort of which the district is nearing completion.
ULock P. Beachum Sr., vice president of the school board, said the “school shows what we can do when we work together.”
UDemaine Kitchen, Youngstown city councilman, said, “The school is part of the growth process in the Valley.”
USummer Baker, archietect from ms consultants, said, “We’ve seen the designs and project come to life. This is where minds of the future will be educated.”
UTony DeNiro, assistant superintendent of school business affairs, said, “We’ve stayed the course and now we will be stable.” He was referring to the moves the pupils and staff endured before the building was completed.
USteve Ludwinski, Ohio School Facilities Commission, presented the plaque for the new building.
The program acknowledged the project director, construction manager and contractors along with school staff and volunteers.
Dorbish said pupils and staff are settling in the new building, which has 452 pupils from preschool through the fourth grade. There are three of every grade, she said, and noted that a fourth kindergarten would be added.
She said the moving began 11 years ago, as Lincoln and John White elementary schools were combined at the Mariner Avenue site, and known as North elementary. The school then moved to a building on Covington Avenue and then to Mary Haddow elementary school building, where North and Mary Haddow became one. “We’re finally back on the original site,” Dorbish said. She noted she was proud of pupils and staff because the school had gotten the Adequate Yearly Progress rating in the state’s assessment. “We have grown academically,” she said.
Dorbish also noted the school has a “phenomenal” computer room. The classrooms are equipped with flat-screen televisions, which are used for some lessons and to broadcast in-school announcements. “It’s also wonderful that the gym and cafeteria are separate,” she said.
Lina Freudenberg, reading recovery teacher, has been with the school for two years. She said she couldn’t help but notice when the pupils came to the new building “how fresh their faces were.”
“A new school and a new attitude ... the students are happy to be here,” she said.
Tyler Davis, 9-year-old son of Yolonda Davis, feels that way. The fourth-grader said, “I love it. It’s so big and the teachers are so nice.”
His mother said he also looks forward to using the school’s new computers.
Taazmayis Briggs and her 6-year-old daughter, Paris, also attended the ribbon cutting and were touring the school. “My favorite place is the gym because it’s fun,” the first-grader said. “And I like my class and teacher.”
Briggs said it was important for her to be involved with the parent-teacher group.
Kirk Davis and daughter Taylor, 8, a second-grader, and son Eric, 5, a kindergartner, who attend MLK, were checking out the library. “They’re excited about the new school,” Davis said of his children. “I wanted to see the classrooms and new technology.”
Eric said, “I like the computers.”
Taylor said, “It’s so big.” She added that her favorite class is math and she also likes art.
SEE ALSO:About the school