Marysville's new school getting ready for its first day

MARYSVILLE -- Marysville Getchell High School bustles these days with contractors in hard hats, movers rolling in equipment, teachers unloading boxes and students eager to catch a glimpse of their classrooms.

Their worlds converged on the new $95.6 million campus earlier this week during three days of student orientation.

Much of the campus remained off limits as construction workers applied finishing touches on buildings that will be occupied when classes start Sept. 7.

Soon the din of drills piercing concrete, saws cutting through metal and the grinding of steel will give way to the human hum of school life.

"There are so many people working so very hard at the last minute to get this done," said John Bingham, the district's capital facilities director and a 1975 Marysville High School graduate.

Students and faculty said this week they like what they see.

And, in senior Noelle Woche's case, smell.

"I love new things and the school smells new," she said.

A few years ago, the school district began creating smaller schools both on and off the Marysville-Pilchuck High School campus. With more than 2,500 students last fall, Marysville-Pilchuck was one of the state's largest high schools.

This fall, four smaller schools from Marysville-Pilchuck will be transplanted to Getchell, which will open with about 1,400 students. Getchell's capacity is 1,600, and students from throughout the district can choose to go there. Marysville-Pilchuck will begin the year with about 1,200 students, matching the size of enrollment the district wants on that campus.

Each of the smaller schools at Getchell has its own three-story building behind brownish orange walls. Each also has different interior colors and academic themes.

All share a fifth building that is the commons area. Downstairs is the kitchen, cafeteria, a small stage and a gym with the Chargers mascot painted in cursive in Getchell's green-and-gold school colors. Upstairs takes on the feel of a health club with an indoor track and rooms for aerobics, wrestling and exercise equipment.

Outside, the campus has a track, a competition-sized field with synthetic turn, a varsity softball field, P.E. field and eight tennis courts. The new high school will not field any athletic teams until fall 2011.

Marysville Getchell was part of a $118 million bond voters approved in 2006. It means Marysville-Pilchuck will no longer be one of the most crowded high schools in the state.

Woche, who will attend the School for the Entrepreneur, said she likes the natural light from the many windows and the fact that she can sleep in an extra 10 minutes because the campus is close to her home.

"I told my mom I'm going to wave (from the school) so she can see me," she said.

The four smaller schools that will be transplanted from Marysville-Pilchuck High School are the Academy of Construction and Engineering, Bio-Med Academy, International School of Communications and the School for the Entrepreneur.

From his office, School for the Entrepreneur Principal Dave Rose can take in a panoramic view that includes the Tulalip Hotel, ferries crossing to and from Mukilteo and the Olympic Mountains.

Rose also graduated from Marysville High School in 1975 and has been an administrator at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

He has high hopes for his new digs because each small school will be self-contained enough to foster close relationships, he said.

At Marysville-Pilchuck, the concept of small schools was introduced but the closeness among students and faculty was harder to achieve because students crisscrossed the large campus.

Now the campus design matches the educational philosophy.

"I've been waiting three long years for this," Rose said, nodding toward the building he will lead. "We can build our own culture here. We can start fresh."

Angela Hansen, who was recently hired as principal for the International School of Communications, said the campus layout allows for shorter passing times between classes and the chance to better get to know students and faculty.

"You can build relationships and everybody knows your name," she said.

Devin Evans-McGarry, a senior in the Academy of Construction and Engineering, likes some of the technological touches, such as the classrooms with lights turned on by motion sensors, and a view of mountains and trees that make the campus "nice and peaceful."

Another different touch are handrails inside and outside of buildings that contain energy efficient lighting. They illuminate areas such as stairwells and mean fewer light poles will be seen by neighbors.

There's also wireless access to the Internet throughout the campus for students bringing laptops from home.

The campus is a mix of new and old. Boulders were kept and blended into the landscape in the front of the school. Trees remain untouched around much of the perimeter.

Several firs and cedars offer a small forest in the center of the campus with other native vegetation, including ferns, Oregon grape and wild strawberries.

Marysville Getchell has 392 parking slots, 30 more than were required under the building permit. After three days of orientation, parking permits were distributed to all students who requested them; 40 stalls remained.

Eric Lefstad, a science teacher, said he expects a few logistical issues will need to be worked out in the first few weeks after the opening of the new campus.

That prospect doesn't faze him a bit.

"I love the feel of the building," he said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com