The Facilities team has been preparing the campus for safe, in-person learning. Below is an update on the many projects that are completed, in progress, or set to begin in the future.

Painting Project

The first thing you will see when returning to school is that the exterior was painted. Exterior stucco was painted SMMUSD standard off white/alabaster grey eggshell gloss level. This project was completed and on schedule on July 10^th. This project complimented the door, window, and trim project from last year. We are very excited about this improvement.

PA/Clock System

The replacement of PA/Clock systems at Franklin Elementary Schools is currently underway. This will provide a better internal system to communicate with the school and students, especially improve safety communications in an emergency. The new PA/clock systems will be combined in a single set of hardware devices. This system provides improved paging functionality and a new ability to post text messages useful for daily updates and during emergencies.  Similar to other equipment, some of the devices that are critical to the completion of this project are suffering from longer lead times due to disruptions in the global supply chain. In order to reduce the overall impact to students and school staff, we are currently working on the installation of conduit, wiring and other related infrastructure. Once all the devices have arrived at the site, the team will work outside of normal school hours to complete their installations. The existing PA/Clock systems at Franklin ES will remain functional until the new systems are complete and functional.

Security Cameras

Security cameras have been fully installed, programmed and staff has been trained in the operation of the security system.  Security cameras are located around the perimeter of the campus and outdoor areas. They will support increased safety and property management.

 

Elevator

The Elevator Controller, elevator doors and cables were replaced, and the new installation was inspected and passed by the State Elevator inspector on Monday 8/02/2021. This rehabilitates the elevator with better operations and increased safety.

Furniture

The district purchased new teacher/classroom furniture to go with the student desks purchased by the PTA a few years ago. This helps to make the classrooms more flexible to improve learning/teaching options. The classrooms have been prepared for students to return under the COVID-19 reopening protocols.

Asphalt

The Maintenance Department had a plan to repair and replace the asphalt in the play area in the back of the school. Due to contracting delays, this could not be completed this summer. It will be rescheduled for the winter break.

We are pleased to provide you with this modernization update and looking forward to a great start to the new school year!

We are in Phase 5 (detailed below) of our Campus Assessment process that is looking at potential improvements to elementary and middle schools in Santa Monica. The process aligns the instructional programs and school facilities to support student learning and prepare students for further education and future jobs. Meetings to include the community in ideation and planning were held in spring and fall of 2020

What is a campus assessment? It is the a major step in planning changes to campuses and classrooms to align them with the district’s educational specifications, which were finalized in 2019. The district hired architects to assess nine Santa Monica elementary and middle school campuses. The assessments include taking deep look into how our campuses currently operate, looking at how they match the ed specs; imagining a future campus that brings the site up to the goals of the ed specs and determining first projects to be allocated funds from Measure SMS.

The assessments are also guided by the district's sustainability plan.

Here's how the assessment and planning cycle works:

Phase 1: Architectural consultants were hired and began visiting campuses and documenting information such as current classroom space and how it aligns with future-projected needs.

Phase 2: Based on what they found in Phase 1, architects created possible projects for each campus, ranging from new classroom buildings to outdoor learning gardens to on-site learning kitchens. These were presented to educators, staff and community members for feedback.

Phase 3: Based on feedback and new information found during Phase 2, architects worked with district staff to refine their plans to include phasing, or a suggested order of projects (for instance, removing portables, relocating parking and then erecting a new classroom building). They also estimated costs for each possible project.

Phase 4: In the fall of 2020, district staff and architects held more meetings with staff and educators and then once again with the community. 

Phase 5: After ensuring alignment with educators and community input, district staff is working with the Santa Monica Facility District Advisory Committee to make project recommendations to the Board of Education, which would allocate Measure SMS funding and approve projects to move forward.

Design would likely begin in January 2021 with construction scheduled to begin in 2022 and 2023 depending on the complexity, movement of the project through the Division of State Architects and ability to schedule the project.