Renew the Raider

Dear Members of the Queen Bee 16 Community,

The Queen Bee Board of Education has been making steady and significant progress over the past eight years to update and improve each of our school facilities. The Board has charged the Superintendent and the administrative team with making significant improvements to each school to improve program opportunities for students, improve the quality of our work environment for our faculty and staff members, and to make our campuses safer and better for students and families.  

We have been successful in upgrading our playgrounds and Learning Materials Centers at all campuses while building elementary gymnasiums for our students and safer parking loops for parent-student drop-off and pick-up.  The improvements have made a significant impact on our district and have been accomplished through disciplined fiscal practices that require improvements to be made with money saved and not money borrowed.  

Glenside Middle School is our largest attendance center, and recently, the Board of Education updated the charge to the Superintendent to put together a schedule of improvements that modernize the school, increase student safety, and enhance the quality of programs that Glenside is able to offer.  

The program of improvements is called "Renew the Raider" and it includes a series of significant improvements to Glenside Middle School that is ongoing and will continue through the next three summers.  

We have already accomplished the relocation and remodeling to accommodate our Band, Choral and General Music programs.  Additionally, an appropriate recess area was added to support 5th Grade recess.  

During the Summer of 2025, we will remodel the Main Gymnasium, Build a Production Kitchen to support and significantly improve our food service program, and Remodel the Student Cafeteria.  

During the Summer of 2026, we will remodel the Upper Gymnasium, establish appropriate and updated Locker Rooms for both Boys and Girls, and relocate the Main Entrance to improve security and accessibility.  During this phase, we will also be making structural improvements to add an Elevator so that our Gymnasiums are accessible to individuals with mobility challenges.  

During the Summer of 2027, we will complete the work necessary to commission an Elevator while reworking the front entrance of the school.  The updated frontage will create a Plaza for pedestrians that is safer for our students when on campus while also creating a circulation area for visitors when we host sporting events, robotics competitions, band and choral concerts, and a number of other community events that we host at the middle school.  

This is an exciting and busy time for us, and we are looking forward to making lasting and significant improvements to Glenside Middle Schools.  As with previous capital projects, the improvements will be funded through savings and will require no borrowing to accomplish.  Please feel free to contact the Superintendent's Office if you have any questions or insights to share.

 

Sincerely, 

Joseph R. Williams, Ed.D.

Superintendent