MEADVILLE — When students across Crawford County head back to school Wednesday morning, a full complement of schools will be waiting to greet them. Closed for the entire 2009-10 school year for renovations, Meadville’s East End Elementary School on Walnut Street is once again open.  

When East End opened its doors for the very first time back in 1926, all third-grader Mary DePascale had to do to get to school was simply cross the street. Going home for lunch, which everyone had to do because the building had no cafeteria, wasn’t a problem, either.

Fast forward to 2010.

She’s looking forward to celebrating her 93rd birthday a bit later this year, but the former third-grader still lives across the street in the house her father bought as soon as he learned a new school was to be built. When she crossed the street Monday afternoon for a private tour of her newly updated alma matre, DePascale entered some surprisingly familiar territory.

“The classrooms haven’t really changed,” said Superintendent Charlie Heller, who took a break from back-to-school activities to serve as her tour guide, explained. “They were upgraded, bringing them up to code. The lockers were an addition since you were here — but the terrazzo floor hasn’t changed.”

“The classrooms were always nice — and I still think they’re nice,” DePascale replied with a smile. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be in here. Kids just don’t realize how much they’ve got.”

Other things have changed quite a bit at the historic school. Built in 1926, the building underwent renovations in 1950 and 1987 and was expanded in 1965.

During the past year, two additional classrooms were added on the Lafayette Street side of the building. The main entrance was shifted from Walnut Street to Porter Street, where a two-story addition houses an administrative suite and classroom on the first floor and a multi-media center on the second.

In her day, DePascale recalled, East End didn’t have a library — let alone a multi-media center.

According to Heller, a room that had probably been one of the building’s larger classrooms had been pressed into service as the library somewhere along the way.

Now, however, it has the center — a combination library and computer lab, with books separated from machines by a wall with large windows carefully designed to allow adults in either room a clear view of activities going on in the other.

New windows have been installed throughout the building and several rooms — including art and music — reconfigured. The entire building has been brought into compliance with requirements of the Americans with Disability Act and sprinklers have been added, bringing it into compliance with the current fire code. According to Dave Dickson, Crawford Central School District’s director of buildings and grounds, testing of the facility was completed Friday and a permanent certificate of occupancy is being issued. That said, “the district is still putting final touches on many of the areas,” Dickson added.

The East End portion of the ongoing districtwide renovation project is expected to come in approximately $257,000 under its budgeted $6,240,303, district Business Manager Guy O’Neil said Monday.

One educational innovation that caught DePascale’s eye right away was a kidney-shaped student activity table occupying one end of Mrs. Pero-Munson’s second-grade classroom. “That’s wonderful,” she said of the table, which allows about half a dozen students to sit in a semi-circle, facing their teacher and within easy reach.

She also liked the idea of desks organized in groups of five with students facing each another instead of the front of the room. “That’s just nice,” she said, recalling her own pre-East-End days, when desks were placed in straight lines and her seat always ended up in the back of the classroom — too far away from the blackboard for her to be able to see what was going on.

“I’m just so thrilled,” she said after the tour, which was arranged by Gerald (Jerry) Davis, a neighbor who also happens to be a long-time school crossing guard. “It’s so beautiful — I can’t imagine them ever wanting to close it. It makes me want to go back to school. It’s really very, very nice, and I hope all the people who are going to come to school here appreciate it.”

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Mary Spicer can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at mspicer@meadvilletribune.com.