New Elliott Street and Oliver Street School first newly constructed buildings in district since 2010

[Newark, NJ – November 24, 2015] – Newark Public Schools (NPS) along with the School Development Authority (SDA) is proud to announce the opening of two new state-of-the-art school buildings in 2016 for Newark’s school children. The buildings are a new Elliott Street School and new Oliver Street School, and represent a collective $120 million-dollar investment by the SDA.  Under construction since 2013, these are the first two newly constructed facilities in the school district since the completion of the new Speedway Avenue Elementary School in 2010.

“Thanks to the School Development Authority we are proud to announce the opening of two new state-of-the-art buildings for the Elliott and Oliver Street school communities that will better serve our students,” said Christopher Cerf, Superintendent of NPS. “These modern buildings will create a first-rate educational experience for our city’s school children, allowing them to learn and grow in a 21st century learning environment.”

The new Elliott School building, located at 721 Summer Avenue, will feature brand new facilities, including specialized instruction classrooms, labs and media centers. The new building will be substantially larger than the current Elliott Annex with 138,000 square feet, 40 classrooms and will be capable of serving approximately 850 students in grades PK through 8. In addition, the building has a separate cafeteria, gym, and multi-purpose room with a stage. A time-lapse video of the new facility being built can be found here.

“Elliott School parents, students and teachers could not be more excited about this new facility,” said Roger León, NPS Assistant Superintendent. “For several years, our community has been having conversations about how to best utilize a new building for our kids, and it is very gratifying to finally see it come to fruition.”

The new Oliver School building, similar to Elliott School, will provide its students with state-of-the-art services. Located at on the west side of the existing school at 86 Oliver Street. it will be 137,000 square feet with 40 classrooms and will be capable of serving around 850 students. This building will also provide access to a separate cafeteria, media center, and gymnasium and will have the added benefit of being the first new school building constructed in the East Ward in 104 years. A slideshow with images of the new facility can be found here.

“Our community eagerly awaits the completion of this new, modern building,” said Douglas Petty, principal of the Oliver Street School. “Our students will soon have access to a high-tech facility that will enhance the educational environment in all of their classrooms and make them ever prouder to be at our school.”

These two buildings are the culmination of years of extensive planning and collaboration by school community leaders. These buildings represent a new standard for facilities in the district that NPS leaders hope to build upon in coming years.

In addition to these two projects, the district is also planning a construction project at South St. School, which is planned for completion in fall of 2018, and recently completed arrangements with a design company.