
DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708280477

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B14  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   88 lines

NEW OAKLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KEEPS SOME ROOTS TO ITS HISTORY

In the old days - which extended to 1996, when the school was closed - moving classes from steamy rooms to the base of a sheltering oak was Oakland Elementary School's answer to air conditioning.

The tree still thrives at the entrance to the school near Chuckatuck, but it now stands guard over Suffolk's newest elementary school.

Although the oldest parts of the building were demolished, a portion of it was integrated into the new structure. The oak tree was carefully shielded during construction.

Such links to the past are important in Chuckatuck, between downtown and north Suffolk, and many of the school's boosters point with pride to the merging of the new with the old.

Starting as a four-room schoolhouse for black children in 1929, the brick building has been in almost continuous use ever since. It was expanded in 1959, and integrated in 1970.

When an expected 435 students stream through Oakland's doors next week, they will enter a 62,000-square-foot, $6.2 million facility that combines the newest in school design with the school's heritage.

The older portion was wrapped so seamlessly by new construction that even John Sammons, Oakland principal for the last 10 years, pauses before pointing out old and new. ``We kept everything we could of the old school,'' Sammons said. That is, 14,000 square feet worth of the old structure.

In the corridors, only the 1950s swimming-pool-green wall tile hints at the merging of old and new walls.

``The tile was in good shape, and we could not afford to replace this tile with something of the same quality today,'' said Richard Knight Jr., Oakland project manager for O.K. James Construction Inc.

Carrying on Oakland's tradition as an integral part of the community, the new school includes a full-size, maple-floored basketball court in a gym equipped with bleachers for 250 spectators.

The gym, as well as an office and all-purpose room, will be used by Suffolk's Parks and Recreation Department for after-school and weekend community activities.

A similar facility is included in Northern Shores Elementary School, which opened last year in Harbourview.

Including the centers in schools is a popular way for growing cities to meet the need for new schools and community centers.

During the year of construction, Sammons, his faculty and students moved to the empty Florence Bowser Elementary School several miles away.

Bowser now has been refitted to accommodate 12 kindergarten classes, early childhood special education and an Early Start program for 4-year-olds. About 300 students are expected there.

After two semesters of making the best of a temporary home, the Oakland staff was eager to go home.

Just to be sure that no unwanted critters came with them, teachers labored in the August sun to unpack every carton outside and carried their supplies into the shining classrooms.

While the school had 275 students when it closed at the end of the 1995-96 school year, it now can accommodate up to 505.

New students will come from the overcrowded Elephant's Fork Elementary School near downtown, and returning students will make up the rest of the student body.

Katherine Jones, a 67-year-old resident who attended Oakland and remembers the cooling effect of the oak tree, said of the new school, ``I love it. The design and colors kind of grab you.''

Looking from the front window of her house across the street, she sees a sprawling, contemporary school faced with brick and stone and capped with a forest green roof.

Felton Whitfield, a 40-year-old Portsmouth pastor, grew up in Chuckatuck and attended Oakland, as did his grandparents and aunts.

When he realized that others shared his close ties to the school, Whitfield began compiling notes for a history of the building.

``For sentimental reasons and historical value, I wish they could have saved the oldest part of the building,'' Whitfield said. ``But I like the way this new one looks.'' ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL KESTNER/The Virginian-Pilot

Teacher Neal Forrester, left, Joey Brewer, center, and media

specialist Pam Courtney load boxes of files and books that need to

be moved to the renovated Oakland Elementary School, which opens

next week.

OPENING EVENT

Oakland Elementary School, 5505 Godwin Blvd., will seal a time

capsule at a ceremony before orientation for parents and students at

7 tonight at the school.

Among items in the capsule will be photos of the former Oakland

school, students' predictions and sketches of life 100 years from

now and collectors' items from 1997, such as trading cards, stamps

and newspaper front pages.