Teachers and students started 2022 with more classroom space at Frantz Coe Elementary School. The 3-story classroom addition includes six classrooms, two learning commons, storage, and a third stairway. Move in was completed over winter break so that teachers could welcome students on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Exterior work and landscaping will continue into the Spring 2022.

“It has been such a joy to watch the Coe classroom addition project come to life from the initial planning stages to the very first moment students and staff walked into the building,” said Lindsey Backstrom, Coe Elementary principal. “In addition to gaining the much-needed general education classrooms, we also feel more comfortable moving around the building and have multipurpose spaces that can be used for a variety of student activities.”

Planning for the new classroom addition centered on creating an optimal learning experience while better supporting students. The special education resource room now has two suites to better meet student needs. Reading specialists and multilingual educators can serve more students with designated spaces. The new visual arts classroom gives students room to spread out with their creative efforts. Having another stairway makes it easier to move throughout the school, especially important as social distancing continues.

“The design is seamless,” said Backstrom. “It seems like it has always been there. They did an excellent job of making the design fit the traditional feel of the school building.”

“Our commitment to providing school buildings that support student academic success becomes more difficult when capacity doesn’t keep up with enrollment growth,” said Director of Capital Projects and Planning Richard Best. “We appreciate the support of our state legislature in providing the funding for this project to expand Coe Elementary.”

The addition project funding came from a Distressed Schools Grant awarded by the State of Washington in January 2018.

More information, photos, and project updates are available on the Coe project page.