Skyline High School’s brand new academic building officially opened this 2024-2025 school year. The old building was demolished during the summer, and now that the new building is open, students and teachers have mixed feelings about it.
One of the main reasons the new building was built was because the old building was falling apart. It was built in 1962, and, ever since then, there have been floods and leaky roofs. A few years ago, the auditorium stage was like a waterfall, and there were some mice. Most people would agree that those things are negative, but there were some great things about the old building, too.
Dillon Edelen, a teacher at Skyline, expressed what he liked about the old building. “I liked that the whole school was just one floor, and there were different buildings, like the A and B,” he said. Edelen has been at Skyline since 2019, and he explained that he really liked how the building felt old. He explained, “It kinda felt like a big home.”
Although the old building had some things people liked and disliked, the new building does too. The new building has a huge athletics building, including a pool, gym, weight room, and wrestling room. The new building also has a lot of hangout spots like the nest. The nest is located on the second floor, and is a place to hang out and to do school work. There are so many classrooms, and a lot of them are in pods with tables and chairs. Grace Fredrick, a senior at Skyline, expressed her feelings about it. She said, “I like how accessible everything is. I like the pod things, because, if you need to step out or if you need to work alone, you can just step outside the room and go into the little area.”
People are liking the new layout, including the pods, but will it help students get to classes faster? Edelen said, “I think the old building was a bit better for kids getting to classes on time, because, again, it was all one floor. We have the athletics building and the new arts building coming, and they will be kind of far from each other.”
Many people agree and disagree on the pros and cons of both buildings, but now that the new campus is almost finished, most people can agree that it is nicer. Lots of people miss the old building (how the school felt, the traditions, etc.) but acknowledge that the new building is a great addition.
