Concordia School’s Dream Comes True With New Library

Pocahontas and Sleeping Beauty were on hand, joining community members and school district officials in the festivities when Concordia Elementary celebrated its 40th anniversary Friday and opened the school’s new library.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Principal Kathy Oshima George said of the 2,000-square-foot library, finally open after four years of planning and fund-raising.

For the occasion, students came dressed as their favorite storybook characters, and the school choir led the audience in a rousing rendition of the vintage Beach Boys hit “Be True to Your School.”

Capistrano Unified School District provided the school with a double-wide portable classroom. Concordia’s PTA and staff came up with $11,000 to furnish it and buy computer equipment and new books.

“We’re thrilled about it,” PTA President Sandra Schwartz said. “And kudos to the district for not forgetting us during the [county] bankruptcy.”

The new facility, which will also be the school’s Internet communications center, is a sharp contrast to converted kitchen that had served for years as a makeshift library and could accommodate only 15 students at a time.

“With a bigger library we can have more books like math and science stuff,” fourth-grader Iva Patel said.

Principal George said the school’s parents and staff must be advocates for excellence in education because Concordia, built in the 1950s, is not one of the district’s new facilities that are “beautiful and gleam and come with technology.”

“These children deserve just as excellent an education as a child who happens to be in a new building,” she said.