Show and tell: School work brings facelift to Destin Elementary

The dust will finally settle and students will return to Destin Elementary School to the smell of “new.”

The school, having rolled past it’s 50th anniversary two years ago, has been getting a much-needed facelift.

The four-phase construction will be completed by the first week of August before teachers return to school on the 11th.

The kindergarten wing has undergone the most changes.

The classrooms were completely gutted and are getting all new carpet, paint, cabinets and other materials. A new Pre-K classroom for students with disabilities is also being added.

“My goal is to get all of the students in a permanent building,” principal Marti Gardner told The Log.

Over the past year while under construction, the school’s main office and some classes have been temporarily housed in portable buildings.

Most of the portables will leave when the construction crews do, but a few will stay behind to house the special programs like math and reading assistance, gifted classes and music classes.

“What’s really nice about this is the new entrance on Kelly,” Gardner said.

A new Kelly Street entrance will shelter a reception area, Gardner’s office, guidance counselor offices, a faculty lounge and other miscellaneous offices.

The new entrance will also improve security at DES by requiring that visitors must enter through the reception area to go into the school where classrooms are.

Other improvements are also under way at the school.
•Curb appeal will be added to the entrance with new lettering, covered walkways and landscaping.
•The old office area will be reincarnated into an art room.
•Every bathroom at DES is getting a complete overhaul as well. New non-porous epoxy flooring means saying good-bye to the old germs hiding in the vintage grout. The restroom will also get new fixtures.
•The main hall of the fifth grade wing will be brightened by doubling the fluorescent lighting, and the old dingy blue carpet will be pulled up to make way for new vinyl composition tile, or VCT, flooring.
Before school starts, a community work date will be announced to allow volunteers the opportunity to help with the final cleanup around the campus.

The exterior look of the school is already more kid-friendly with a fresh coat of colorful paint on the existing picnic tables.

“It’s just going to bring back some pride,” Gardner said.