Throughout the summer of 2022, Aragon will be undergoing a series of construction projects, which will run from May 28 to Aug. 6. Some projects are scheduled to be implemented in the summer of 2023.
Funded by the Measure L bond and estimated to cost around $18,872,420, the construction project will encapsulate transite panels on Aragon’s exterior to prevent the exposure of harmful asbestos particles. The school will also be repainted to a warmer color, and some rooms, like the computer lab in the library, will be moved around and redone. In addition, a new public address system and new doors and windows will be added to the campus. During the summer of 2023, new signs and seating areas will also be added.
“The [PA system will] help our communications and emergency response,” said Principal Valerie Arbizu. “The exterior work will help maintain our health. The new doors and windows should help with thermal impact and noise reduction. The signage is going to help visitors when they come to watch games. It’s going to be a big facelift for the campus.”
The transite panel encapsulation is the primary goal of this summer’s construction. The cement used in the current panels at Aragon is mixed with asbestos, a material that can have serious health effects to those who are exposed. The encapsulation will prevent damage of the transite panels and is less expensive than a complete replacement of the current panels.
“There has been a bit of damage to the transite panels here, and you don’t want any asbestos out and about with your staff and your students,” Arbizu said. “I’m happy that we’re taking a step toward environmental stewardship and [protecting] the health and safety of our kids and faculty.”
Some students, like sophomore Maya Rozenberg, believe these changes can positively impact the campus environment.
“I think [the changes] will bring more people together,” Rozenberg said. “If there are more seating arrangements, more people are going to be sitting together and making new friends.”
Despite the improvements, the summer construction’s timeframe will interfere with the dates that Aragon’s Link Crew can give tours to the incoming freshmen and transfer students. New students will likely not view their classrooms until the first day of school.
”I think coming to a space that’s looking fresh might be invigorating”
“I think it’s important that the freshmen know where they’re going,” Rozenberg said. “I hope that they figure something out … because it was really helpful knowing where my classes were on the first day of school.”
Link Crew teacher Courtney Caldwell expects that Link Crew will have to make adjustments.
“Link Crew will have to be flexible,” Caldwell said. “We might have to go back to a system we did a couple years back, when we would have our regular orientation day, but also require the link crew leaders and new students to come to school at 8:30 [a.m.] on the first day of school. Everyone else will come a bit later so that [the new students] can get a tour and get acclimated to the campus.”
Caldwell doesn’t think that the changes will negatively affect the new students too much.
“If anything, [the construction is] going to look really nice when they arrive on campus,” Caldwell said. “The one impact I can see is that coming to orientation, one of the expectations [from new students] would be to tour the campus. [However], … the link crew leaders will be there to help [students] on the first day before school [so] they can navigate them [to] their classes.”
Teachers may also be affected by limitations to the spaces they will be able to use at the end of the school year and during the summer.
“Teachers usually finish cleaning up the week after school gets out, but we’re not going to have that time,” Arbizu said. “Everybody has to get out so construction can start. [Likewise], teachers like to come in a week before school starts to set up their classrooms, but we’re not going to have access to those spaces yet.”
Despite these inconveniences, some teachers and students are excited for the renovation.
“We’ve been going through the pandemic [and] we’ve been off campus [for a while],” Caldwell said. “I think coming to a space that’s looking fresh might be invigorating.”
Sophomore Bella Guevara elaborates on this idea.
“It’s nice to give [Aragon] a new look,” Guevara said. “I think everyone will like [the changes].”
Students will step foot onto a different campus when the 2022-23 school year begins.
