Nearly 400 Yost Elementary students will kick off the school year Aug. 14 enjoying all the amenities in their freshly completed $22 million school in Porter.
Students spent last year in the K-4, 26-classroom wing of the school, but its cafeteria, gymnasium, media center, STEM lab and art rooms were still under construction.
Duneland school officials originally planned to relocate students while the new school was being built, but came up with a solution that didn’t displace the students.
On Monday, about 80 students in white Yost T-shirts participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the school, which sits by the footprint of the old 1950- built school at 100 W. Beam St.
The students also contributed to a time capsule that included a 2023-24 yearbook, handwritten student notes, a Yost T-shirt and a 4th grade memory book.
“I’m so excited about all the new classrooms, playgrounds, and spaces where we’ll get to learn and play,” said 4th grader Jada Pollard.
“It feels like we’re starting a new adventure, and I can’t wait to explore it with all my friends.”
Principal Josh Huwig said the district opted to provide minimal disruption for students during construction, which began in 2022. Students remained in the old Yost building while workers built the academic wing and then moved to the new wing after it was completed last year.
The original building was demolished last summer as construction began on the final phase.
“Yost students, parents, teachers and staff rallied around the new building and made the best of any challenges during the construction process,” said Huwig.
The school name honors Newton Yost, a beloved teacher and principal for 25 years who was principal at the original Porter school when it opened in 1895.
The new school is part of a $171 million districtwide capital projects plan, financed with a bond issue, which began in 2021.
It includes the expansion of Liberty and Westchester schools to accommodate grades 5-8. Renovation work was also done at Bailly, Brummitt, Jackson and Liberty elementary schools.
Superintendent Chip Pettit said the school board approved the spending plan as debt fell off on the 1999 Chesterton High School construction. Officials said the spending plan kept tax rates neutral.
“For the past 25 years, the school board has done a great job managing the tax rate to allow for a project of this size. Our next generation of students and teachers will reap the instructional and safety benefits that come with a modernized learning environment.”
The community can tour the school from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 12.
Other open houses are slated from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Brummitt and Jackson; Sept. 12 at Bailly; Sept. 16 at Liberty Intermediate & Middle and Liberty Elementary and Sept. 18 at Westchester Intermediate & Middle School.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
