CENTRE — This time last year, Centre Middle School Principal Renee Williams would have been justified in feeling a little run down.

Less than a month after moving into a brand-new 85,000-square-foot facility, there was a constant line of delivery trucks bringing furniture, food and school supplies. Contractors were still working out wiring and electrical bugs here and there. Hundreds of teachers and children were running this way and that, still learning their way around.

Last week, on the other hand, during a seemingly chaotic – to an outsider, anyway –Thursday morning, Williams was calming sitting at her desk, smiling and waiting to be interviewed.

Clearly, a year in the new building has had a rejuvenating effect on Williams, her staff, and her students.

“We're having a block party tonight, to celebrate our first year,” Williams says. “It's kind of an open house, we'll be serving cake and hot dogs.”

It is clear that everyone – from Williams on down – is glad to be in their new $15 million home. Williams says the satisfaction has become quite contagious.

“Everyone is just so proud of this place,” Williams says. “The teachers are proud to work here and keep the place clean and looking great. Last week, I even saw a student stop to wipe a scuff mark off the tile floor.”

Gone are pipes for pumping steam heat in the winter and faulty window air conditioners – both staples of the former Centre Middle. In their place are LCD projectors in every classroom, four computer laboratories, and a breathtaking central gathering area just past the vaulted main entrance.

“The old building had character and we all loved that building, but jeepers, there's no comparison to coming in here every day,” Williams says of the columned commons area with atrium ceiling. “Coming into the building is just beautiful. It's fun to come to work, it's well built, and it gives you more of the feel of a place of learning.”

There have been bugs to work out: a frozen pipe last January flooded the main building and there have been a few faulty wires and finicky thermostats.
But she insists no one is clamoring for the old days.

“There are no shortcomings, and no one is walking around wishing we were still in the previous building,” Williams says of the antiquated facility on Main Street that was home to the middle school for decades. “It's nice to be in a classroom and be comfortable.”

Williams says another advantage with is that once kids enter the doors in the morning, they remain inside.

“The gymnasium, the lunchroom, everything is under one roof,” she says. “At the old building we had to go in and out, back and forth, in the rain and the cold.”

So is everything really this much better at the new Centre Middle School?

“I guess it's the same as making yourself feel better when you get dressed up for a special occasion,” Williams laughs. “We serve the same food prepared by the same lunchroom workers as before, but I've even had people tell me the food tastes better now.”