LEHIGHTON -- Some big changes are on the way for middle school students in Lehighton. Temporary classrooms are set up and construction is underway.
As students shuffle between classrooms, there’s lots of renovation work going on around them at the Lehighton Area Middle School.
"The kids think it's fun. They like to see there's no more ceilings, and to see what's going, so it's starting out pretty well,” said Principal Mark McGalla.
Over the next two years, a $14.8 million project will replace the roof, heating and cooling systems, the building’s facade and give a much-needed upgrade to the cafeteria, library, offices and more.
But it will be a balancing act to get it all done without disrupting class.
"We have a phasing plan in place where every three to six months we are relocating anywhere from six to eight classrooms at a time,” said Lehighton Area School District Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver.
Starting in the next week or two – some of the middle school classes will be held in the auditorium in these six makeshift classrooms.
One teacher built her lesson plan around the construction while teaching the Trail of Tears.
"They were complaining they were outside for 15 seconds today rather than days and nights at a time like the Native Americans when they were being moved by Andrew Jackson, that was a neat lesson,” said McGalla.
As the ceiling tiles are ripped out of the hallways to begin work on the heating and electrical systems, construction crews moved them, recycling them -- making them the new ceilings for the temporary classrooms.
"The door frames are being reused, the temporary doors are reused, the lighting -- as much lighting as we can reuse is part of it,” said Cleaver.
So far, the only hangup is where to hang coats.
“The one thing we are working on is a plan for lockers and the most efficient way to have the lockers convenient to where the kids are,” said McGalla.
This project is just one of many ongoing improvements at the Lehighton Area School District.
The new athletic stadium is weeks away from completion and the high school is getting several upgrades as well, all making for a busy 2016.