A new year means a new update for the Grace Hopper building. Although I can’t speak for everyone, I am beyond excited to start transitioning into our new building. As much as I will cherish and miss the memories I have created at the Career Center, I am ready to move on to a bigger, better chapter of my life filled with new opportunities, and I hope you all are too (Sorry, seniors!)
The building is looking better and better by the day, with its exterior finally in the process of being covered with light grey-ish beige bricks, and it appears that almost all the windows are in. So, what’s happening on the inside?
Inside, lots of things are being installed: stairs, interior wall framing, interior door and window frames, wall paint, tiles, elevators, and more. Crews have already installed the technical, electrical, and plumbing systems, but they won’t be inspected until summer. There will be three elevators in total, spread out across the school, so we won’t have to worry about relying on a single, tiny one anymore! Additionally, terraces and roofing are all currently being worked on.
Mr. Mainor, assistant principal, claims that the school is on track to be ready for the 2026-2027 school year, and a whole boatload of new students are on the way. According to him, teachers already have access to boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap in order to prepare for this summer’s transition, even though the rooms they will be taking over are largely unclear. Mr. Mainor says that they have an idea of where each subject may be placed, but without knowing if they will be teaming up with Langston’s administration, they are unable to finalize those decisions.
We have several pictures from inside the building, one of which heavily concerned the journalism team. A photo depicting a bunch of toilets next to each other without stalls left us wondering if they would remain stall-less even after we moved in. When asked about this concern, Mr. Mainor explained that while there won’t be a door to the bathroom itself, each toilet will be enclosed with floor-to-ceiling stalls. As exciting as this is, I was also informed that the washing station would be separate from the bathroom and technically in the hallway (well, in between them). It will essentially be a quick pass-through between two parallel hallways that I can only assume is coed. As you can imagine, some students are concerned about this, as we believe the bathroom mirrors should be private. For example, I often end up doing my hair at school in the morning, and personally, I don’t want my struggle to put my hair up in a ponytail to be on display for passersby.
Several digital renderings of the school show grass and trees included in the new campus, which we desperately need here, but after speaking with Mr. Mainor, we’re going to have to wait. The main greenspace displayed is going to be where the trailers currently are, but until the parking garage is done, it will be used as a parking lot, meaning we unfortunately still have quite a bit of time until we are surrounded by green.
Many of us are very ready to move into this building, and as hard as it is to leave behind our old school, I am looking forward to the opportunities this new building will bring. Thanks for keeping up with the construction updates. More details to come in our next print edition!
