180 Days of Learning : NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED

The summer has been anything but quiet at two Costa Mesacampuses. Crews have been working to reopen Rea 5th and 6th Grade Center and Davis 5th and 6th Grade Center, both of which have been closed to students for more than a decade.

A statewide initiative to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade created such a need for classroom space that Newport-Mesa officials are spending about $1 million apiece to reopen the schools.

Old chalkboards and outdated lighting fixtures are being replaced. All classrooms are getting new paint and carpets. New furniture has been set up in libraries and offices. And both schools will be online with new computers before the doors for students.

Both schools have fifth- and sixth-grade classes this fall.

“It’s very exciting,” said Susan Despenas, Newport-Mesa’s director of elementary education. “They are both going to be beautiful schools.”

One of the attractions for students and teachers, said Despenas, is that, because both Rea and Davis were formerly intermediate schools, their classrooms are much larger than those at typical elementary schools.

For years, Rea served as office space for several social services. Some have moved out, while others such as the Boys and Girls Club that complement the school will stay.

Davis had housed Newport-Mesa’s adult education programs, which have moved to an office in Costa Mesa.

Ken Killian, former principal of Pomona Elementary School, has been chosen principal at Rea. Cheryl Galloway, a former administrator in Tustin Unified School District, will be principal at Davis.