A New Era at E. Rivers Elementary

 

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The newly rebuilt E. Rivers Elementary School is almost 100 years old! I was honored to participate in their ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning, my first ribbon cutting since arriving in the district – it was a historic moment that was not lost on me.

20150327_111407During the ceremony we heard from current students, alumni, staff, elected officials and closed with an awesome song by the E. Rivers chorus.  The lyrics of their song said “Tomorrow needs us, there is so much to do…”  That sense of urgency is what pushes our educators daily to build a strong district full of students who live up to our vision of being a high-performing school district where students love to learn, educators inspire, families engage and the community trusts the system. It is safe to say our vision is already being realized at E. Rivers.

RIVERScutt2015-047Students from North Atlanta High School also graced the stage with a beautifl performance.  There is so much talent in this cluster…in our entire district…and it was great to see it on display as we ushered in a new era for this thriving Elementary School.

One of APS’ oldest schools, E. Rivers was originally named Peachtree Heights and was built in 1917 on land donated by Atlanta developer Eretus Rivers. In honor of Mr. River’s service to the community and the Atlanta Board of Education, the school was renamed E. Rivers Elementary School in 1926.

Because of the school’s strong historic background, notable memorabilia, including a historic Georgia flag, was integrated into the new design.  Check out my photo with the flag below. A big thank you to our friends at Parrish Construction who worked with the architect firm Collins Cooper Carusi and our APS Operations team to preserve all of the original E. Rivers Elementary monuments, plaques, a memorial tree and the original E. Rivers Lion into the new school.20150327_111253(0)

Nearly double the size of the original building, the new building — which is actually located on the site of the original school—will now be home to almost 900 Kindergarten through 5th grade students. I know everyone is happy to be back in their new building, and we thank all of our parents and staff for their 18 months of patience and relocation as the building was rebuilt.

20150327_111513A special shout out to Principal Matt Rogers who has managed to not only grow but thrive in the midst of all of the transition while making the task look effortless.  I appreciate his leadership and love of education.

 

Welcome home E. Rivers!



 

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