A sense of excitement hung in the air as Idylwild Elementary School students filed into the school’s cafeteria Monday morning.
After a three-day wait, the students finally had a chance to take a tour of their renewed school. Over the weekend, volunteers with Project Makeover worked to beautify the school, painting murals on the school walls and cleaning up the grounds.
Principal Daniel Ferguson said because his school’s grade jumped from a D to a B last year, he wanted to reward his students with a surprise: a new playground.
“It symbolizes a place where the kids can just simply let loose and have fun,” he said.
About 80 percent of Idylwild’s 676 students are on the free and reduced lunch program, said Kelley Kostamo, partnership specialist for Alachua County Public Schools.
The improved grade motivated the school to raise money for the new playground, which cost about $21,000, Ferguson said.
“They said it couldn’t be done, and we just pushed through,” Ferguson said. “I kept asking everybody, ‘Just do what you can; do what you can,’ and it came together.”
For the last six years, Project Makeover, a nonprofit UF group, has selected an Alachua County elementary school to renovate, said Ashley Podoll, executive director of Project Makeover Idylwild Elementary.
Podoll said this was the first year a renovated elementary school did its own fundraising.
“They knew what it was that they wanted, and they knew that it was out of Makeover’s price range,” Kostamo said. “That was what their dream project really was.”
The Gainesville Woman’s Club made the largest donation, said Ferguson.
Precision Playgrounds Co., a Jacksonville-based playground construction company, contributed.
Brian BeauPre, playground site supervisor, said he and his co-workers were proud to take part.
“In 20 years of construction, a 5-year-old shows more appreciation for what we do than most homeowners or builders,” he said.
Many students said they looked forward to playing on the playground’s slide, including 7-year-old second grader Isaiah Boyd.
“It’s awesome and fun,” he said. “I like swirls like ice cream — with a cherry on top.”
Idylwild Elementary School students react to the new improvements made to their school Monday morning. Volunteers with Project Makeover spent this past weekend painting murals and installing a new playground. Idylwild Elementary raised $21,000 for the renovations through fundraisers and donations.
