Thanksgiving hadn’t even arrived yet, but hundreds of students, families, faculty administrators and board directors offered up thanks as Coast Episcopal School (CES) celebrated and dedicated campus renovations at a November 17 ribbon cutting at the school.
“The improvements you see today encompass forty years of repair work, completed in just two months this past summer,” said Head of School Jake Winter before a ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the first phase of a $2.5 million capital campaign launched in fall of 2022.
Renovations to the fifty-year-old elementary school building include new electrical and HVAC systems, ceilings and flooring, and a restroom and water fountain located adjacent to the school’s playground.
The first phase of the renovations also improve security at the Long Beach school, with campus safety upgrades such as reconfiguration of the front office, additional security cameras and monitors and a new phone system that connects all seven buildings on the twenty-five acre campus.
The $1,054,837 cost of the first phase of the $2.5 million capital campaign project was covered by almost $1 million of cash and in-kind donations that came from nearly one-hundred CES families, friends and suppliers, including Watters Architecture and Crane Builders.
“The generous support of CES friends and family has been even greater than we hoped,” says Capital Campaign Manager Evelina Burnett, who coordinated the fundraising activities that financed the campus enhancements. “This speaks to the vitality of our school, and, more importantly, to their commitment to our students. We are excited by the support of our community for these efforts to improve CES for future generations.”
CES was founded in 1950 and has a mission that is dedicated to a life-long love of learning by developing the whole child-mind, body and spirit, and providing a joyful, unique and nurturing Judeo-Christian community that inspires its students to image and create a better world.
On the day of the ribbon cutting, the entire school celebrated all the much-needed improvements to the campus.
“The completed work we’re dedicating today is just the beginning, and we are looking forward to sharing our vision and plans with even more CES friends and family over the coming months,” Burnett said. “The $2.5 million, three-year plan will result in a contemporary and cohesive look using unifying elements on the exteriors of the main building, Gail Keenan Art Center and Seemann Makerspace. Windows throughout the campus buildings will be replaced. The Toddler Town (serving eighteen-months to three-year-olds) and Preschool buildings (serving three- and four-year-olds) will have revamped parking, including ADA spaces, and new landscaping and wayfinding signage will be added around the campus grounds.”
“The Coast Episcopal School Board has been excited to support the much-needed renovations to the existing elementary school building,” said CES Board President Casey Maugh Funderburk. “As the first of many exciting changes coming to CES, this initial phase of the capital campaign marks an important milestone for the growth and development of our children and the school. As our fundraising efforts continue, we hope the community will continue to support our growth as we move toward exciting new additions to the CES footprint.”
“The main building has been largely untouched for decades, and the Board and Administration made a bold decision to invest in the existing infrastructure,” said Leah Watters, principal architect. “We believe that these renovations provide a clean backdrop to the academic discoveries that happen within the walls of CES.”
The dedication and celebration opened with a prayer, followed by a welcome and dedication from Head of School Jake Winter, who commended all those in the community who have pitched in to make the project and renovations possible, including Crane Builders of Waveland, who served as the general contractor for the project’s first phase.
“Crane Builders was honored to have the opportunity to be part of the capital improvements at CES,” said Project Manager Chris Hansen. “Our own children have started their school careers here, and we couldn’t be happier that they will be able to take advantage of the facelifts Watters Architecture has designed for the school, and that today’s administration and Board of Directors are moving forward with additional projects.”
After the ribbon cutting, the Rt. Rev. Brian Seage knocked on the door to begin the blessings on the school’s classrooms and new offices. The celebration concluded with the Thanksgiving Holy Eucharist.
