Casey school on track for August opening

By Kevin JacksonMay 26, 2010

Casey school on track for August opening
Casey Elementary School Principal Shelly Kennedy (right), Lt. Col. Richard Fromm (left) and DODDS-Pacific officials visit Casey Elementary School with Casey Garrison leaders May 20. The school will open for the 2010-2011 school year and is the first ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

CASEY GARRISON South Korea - Casey Elementary School Principal Shelly Kennedy and Department of Defense Education Activity Pacific officials met with garrison leaders May 20 to talk about logistics issues and check on progress of the new school, which will open for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The visit included stops at a temporary administrative space on the second floor of the building adjacent to American Forces Network Casey, the school construction site, Hanson Field House, and the former garrison training room (S-2437), which will serve as the cafeteria until the second wing opens the following school year.

"There is no project hotter than the school right now," said Brent Abare, deputy to the garrison commander, Casey Garrison, to school officials. "People are excited; they are pumped up in a positive way."

While DoDEA Pacific officials from Okinawa receive ongoing progress reports they felt it was important to get a "boots on the ground" look at the progress that has been made since ground was broken for the school in February 2010.

"From afar we see spreadsheets and briefings, but when we arrived here we saw it's really happening," said Christopher Siler, a program analyst in the DoDEA Pacific Director's Office. "The bottom line is that we must get it right for our children."

Kennedy shares that sense of purpose. Since arriving on peninsula March 29 from Yokosuka, Japan, where she was the assistant principal of Nile C. Kinnick High School, Kennedy has been working to hire staff, order equipment and books, and more. She's planning to move from Yongsan to Dongducheon in June and will work out of the temporary space in preparation for the opening. As school officials surveyed the four-story building and walked the grounds with Lt. Col. Richard Fromm, Casey Garrison commander, Abare told them that the contractor has been working on the project seven days a week to meet the completion deadline. Work on the project was 55 percent complete as of May 21, according to construction progress report tracked by the Directorate of Public Works' Engineering and Services Division. Once the building is finished in July the furniture will be assembled in preparation for the first day of school.

Affectionately called the "heart of the community" by Jack Martin, chief of logistics for DoDEA Pacific, the school is located in the area behind the Gateway Club, which will also be home to Child, Youth and School Services and the Child Development Center. Martin is impressed with the community planning and progress.

"I was here for the original citing, but from what I can see the progress being made is absolutely phenomenal," he said. "It's definitely going to meet the needs of the community and the students and families, especially when the entire site is completed. This is going to be an outstanding learning facility."

The stop at Casey Elementary School concluded a five-day tour of DoDEA schools at Yongsan Garrison, Osan Air Base, Humphreys Garrison and Daegu Garrison for Pacific officials.