Harrisburg School District officials, students and community members cut the ribbon on the reopened Steele Elementary School.
The Harrisburg School District celebrated its newly renovated and reopened “state-of-the-art” school on Tuesday.
At a ceremony, the district cut the ribbon on Steele Elementary School on the 2500-block of N. 5th St., which opened to students this fall.
“Today, we are gathered together to celebrate revitalization, not only the revitalization of the school building itself, but also revitalization of the educational opportunity and pride of this community,” said Dr. Marcia Stokes, acting superintendent.
Steele Elementary School
The school was originally built in the 1930s and closed in 2011, remaining vacant until the district decided, two years ago, to renovate and reopen the building. At the time, officials said that reopening the building would help solve a capacity issue at the elementary school level, as the schools got fuller after fifth graders were moved from the middle schools to elementary schools. Officials were also interested in having a neighborhood school in the Uptown area.
The project began in May 2023.
The district used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), federal COVID relief funds to support the $21.6 million renovation and expansion project.
Steele Elementary media center
The new building houses kindergarten through fifth grade and includes modern instructional classrooms, as well as art, music and special education classrooms. There is also a new kitchen and cafeteria, media center and playgrounds.
At the start of construction, the building was largely gutted, new windows and doors were installed and an addition was constructed on the back of the building to house the cafeteria and classrooms.
Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates was the architect for the renovation, and Fidevia Construction Management & Consulting served as the contractor.
Cafeteria
“They were absolutely starstruck,” said Steele Principal Frances Echevarria of the students on the first day of school. “My vision was always to have a school that was conducive to learning, and this fulfills my dream.”
Echevarria said that everything from the bright blue, green and orange wall colors to the furniture choices of comfortable stools and chairs helps students focus better and take pride in their environment.
“When they walk in here, this really feels like their home,” she said.
For more information, visit the Harrisburg School District’s website.
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