It’s hard to believe but it’s almost time for back to school, and many DeKalb County students will notice some big changes as they walk through the doors of DeKalb Middle School this year. The school has fixed a problem that has plagued the building since its opening back in 1971.

When DeKalb Middle School was constructed, it was built in a California-style open classroom concept, meaning it had certain classes in open areas, without doors or walls separating the classrooms. It was soon realized that the concept had major flaws, posing a distraction to young students, and in today’s world, making the classroom less safe.

Over the years, school officials attempted to mitigate the problem by constructing dividers, that at least closed off eyesight to others classes, but did little to address noise and safety concerns.

DeKalb Middle School fixed those issues over the summer by erecting new reinforced concrete walls throughout the building, enclosing eight classrooms and the library area.   

DeKalb Director of Schools Patrick Cripps gave a tour of the school to the media last Friday, and said it was something that had needed to be done years ago.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Director Cripps said. “We worked with the fire marshal and I’ll have to give Aaron Young and our maintenance department credit, and Brian Templeton of the Upland Design Architects, for the work they did to get an agreement with the fire marshal so we could enclose all of our classrooms.”

According to Cripps, several classrooms were on corners with three walls. but not a fourth. Those open spaces led to hallways and other open classrooms. The open concept became more concerning in recent years with the need to lock down classrooms in the event of an intruder or other safety issue.

“Before we had traffic noise from the hallways and safety lockdown concerns. When we had lockdowns, we had to move one class of students into another class to make sure everyone could get behind a locked door. With these new walls, every classroom will be able to go on lockdown in their own rooms,” Cripps explained.

The Board of Education approved an agreement last February for an architect to design classroom walls to be added at DMS. The project cost $400,000, and the finishing touches are underway before school begins in August.