New school named for Obama opens in struggling Normandy School District

The idea to name the school after the nation's first African-American president came from the students.

"Barack Obama Elementary School represents the hopes and aspirations of the students who will go to school here," said Superintendent Stanton Lawrence.

The pristine 65,000-square-foot school in Pine Lawn also represents hope for a district teetering on the edge of losing state accreditation and a community riddled with poverty and crime.

Much like the theme in Obama's memoir, "The Audacity of Hope," Lawrence said, "We will dare to be hopeful" in the face of the problems the district faces.

About 250 people packed into the school's "cafetorium" — which serves as the cafeteria and auditorium — for the dedication ceremony. Teachers took groups on tours of the two science labs, art room, full-court gymnasium and spacious classrooms. Instead of chalkboards, the library and each of the 26 classrooms are equipped with an interactive whiteboard, much like a giant computer screen.

"I'm excited about not only bringing this into the Normandy School District but into Pine Lawn," said Laquita McDuffie, 38, who was with her two children who will attend the school. "We have a lot of dilapidated buildings ... and this is like a piece of candy. It's very good for the neighborhood."

The school, near Jennings Station Road and Vetter Place, will serve nearly 500 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, Lawrence said. It's replacing the aging Garfield and Pine Lawn Elementary schools.

Construction was funded by a $23 million bond issue voters approved in April 2008, which lengthened the time that property owners would pay taxes to retire all district bonds from 2024 to 2028.

School officials praised the vote as evidence of the community's commitment to improving education despite economic struggles. The district, home to about 40,000 people, includes part or all of 23 municipalities in North County that have been some of the hardest hit by the recession, with the area's highest rates of home foreclosures and residential property abandonment.

The number of students who attend Normandy schools has dropped more than 15 percent in the past five years to 4,800, Lawrence said. The drop comes despite the closure of Wellston schools a year ago, which was supposed to mean 550 new students in Normandy schools. Only 263 enrolled.

Lawrence said he has made tough decisions since taking over as superintendent three years ago. In February 2009, the dwindling budget forced him to lay off 80 employees. He put new principals in eight of the 11 schools and replaced poor teachers, he said.

The new school and an initiative by the housing advocacy group Beyond Housing to build or rehab as many as 1,200 homes in the school district are evidence of community involvement that is key to change, Lawrence said.

"We expect this to be a banner year for Normandy School District," he said. "I think Barack Obama Elementary represents a new day, I really do."