Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

From left, Ione Junior High School = students Adam=20 Camden, Karly Workman, Vanessa Williams, Jessica Windship, Emily = Baldwin,=20 Holly Kemp and Melissa Doherty enjoy a break between classes = outside the=20 school's new building, which opened its doors in = November.

Photo by: Bethany A. = Monk

Ione Junior High School students visit = with each=20 other a few minutes before class begins on April 22. Their = classroom is=20 one of the 13 classrooms in the school's new building, which = opened in the=20 beginning of the school year.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
A new, state-of-the-art building, = offering=20 teachers and students access to newer technology and spacious = classrooms, opened=20 in November at Ione Junior High School. It has been a hit ever = since.

On=20 April 22, Amador County Unified School District trustees toured the = building=20 before their monthly meeting. Members of the public, including parents = and=20 staff, as well as Ione City Manager Kim Kerr, were among those who went = on the=20 tour, trustee Pat Miller told the Ledger Dispatch. The school's = principal, Dr.=20 Bill Murray, led the tour and let visitors see the new classrooms and = their=20 respective technological components.

"We all thought it was = great,"=20 Miller told the Ledger Dispatch. "It's an outstanding facility. We = walked=20 through all the classrooms and got to meet with one of the teachers," he = said,=20 noting that visitors got to see the Smart Board in action. This piece of = equipment, Miller said, is like a modern-day projector. "You can take = material=20 out of a book and project it on the screen," he said.

The = multi-level=20 building also has an elevator for those with disabilities, Miller said. = There=20 are also several safety eyewash stations for students to use in their = science=20 classes.

The building cost a total of $5 million to construct, = Murray=20 told the Ledger Dispatch; developer fees covered $3 million and state = funds=20 covered $2 million.

"In the district, our buildings are fairly=20 antiquated," Murray said. The oldest building on campus was built in = 1903. It=20 was the original schoolhouse and is still in use, he said. In fact, = classes were=20 held there until earlier this school year. The school's parents' club = has since=20 raised $3,500 to renovate the building's interior. The two-room = schoolhouse will=20 be ready for use as a library and media center by the beginning of next = school=20 year.

Murray said the older buildings, coupled with the new=20 infrastructure, create a nice campus.

The new building is able to = offer=20 more space and more opportunities for teachers and students via newer=20 technology, he said. "It certainly brings a real world kind of = experience to the=20 classroom," Murray said.

The building boasts 13 rooms total. Four = of the=20 rooms are for science classes and are equipped with science labs; the = remaining=20 rooms are general education classrooms.

"I think it was built = for the=20 anticipation of growth in the county," Murray added. The now-empty = classrooms in=20 some of the older buildings, he said, can be used should enrollment=20 rise.

Students are also pleased with the new addition to their = campus.=20

"I like it," said seventh-grader Emily Baldwin, during a break = between=20 classes. "It's bigger. There's more space. There's = projectors."

"It's=20 pretty cool," said Adam Camden, a seventh-grader who has a history and = science=20 class in the new building. "It has an elevator for people who can't walk = upstairs. It has more technology. We can hook up our = laptops."

"It makes=20 learning more fun," said Vanessa Williams, also in seventh = grade.

In=20 other news, the school recently became a California Distinguished = School.=20 Outside the new building, a banner stating the school's new honor is = draped just=20 below the building's clock tower that stretches to the sky. Argonaut = High School=20 in Jackson is also newly minted as a California Distinguished=20 School.

According to the California Department of Education Web = site, the=20 criteria for school selection for the state's distinguished school = awards are=20 based on an application submission, a detailed description of the = school's=20 successful programs, an application review and a site visit; schools = must also=20 meet certain eligibility criteria such as reaching the designated = federal and=20 state accountability measures based on No Child Left Behind, and the = Adequate=20 Yearly Progress and Academic Performance Index requirements.

Bethany A. = Monk