{"id":547843,"date":"2026-01-27T23:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/547843\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T23:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:14:09","slug":"modernization-to-begin-for-75-year-old-bird-rock-elementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/547843\/","title":{"rendered":"Modernization to begin for 75-year-old Bird Rock Elementary"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA \u2013 Bird Rock Elementary School<\/a> will begin a major renovation this summer to modernize its 75-year-old campus and meet the long-term needs of students. The $25 million project is scheduled to start in June 2026 and is expected to finish by March 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cBird Rock School just turned 75 years old. We\u2019re celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, and we want the campus ready and prepared for the next 75 years, so the modernization is important,\u201d said Principal Dr. Eric Banatao.<\/p>\n

The school has long served as a hub for the Bird Rock<\/a> community, hosting events and activities that extend beyond the student body. <\/p>\n

Banatao said the renovation reflects both the school\u2019s role as a neighborhood anchor and its educational mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe held conversations with staff, parents, and community members to gather feedback on their hopes and needs for the school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Community input guided several key aspects of the plans, including a more visible front entrance, consolidated classrooms for younger students, and expanded spaces for arts, music, engineering, and maker activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community wanted a more welcoming front entrance and better organization for our youngest learners, like TK and kindergarten. The new plans give us a clear front entrance, more classrooms for lower grades, additional restrooms, dedicated spaces for music and art, and new areas for engineering and maker activities,\u201d Banatao added.<\/p>\n

The renovation will remove eleven portable classrooms and two older buildings across the school\u2019s 4.3-acre campus. In their place, a two-story building with nine classrooms and a learning deck, and a one-story building with six classrooms, will be constructed. The administration building will be relocated closer to the front of campus to provide a clearly marked main entrance and improve accessibility.<\/p>\n

Construction will proceed in phases to limit disruption to students, staff, and the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisruption will be minimized by phasing the work. The first phase will remove five temporary classrooms, and a new nine-classroom building with a learning deck will be completed within 12 to 15 months. Once that building is ready, students and staff can move out of other areas to allow additional construction,\u201d Banatao said.<\/p>\n

He added that safety and careful coordination are top priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe construction teams will handle the bulk of heavy demolition, noise, and trenching during the summer months. Security fencing and careful scheduling will keep students and staff safe, and we\u2019ll work closely with the project team throughout the year to ensure success for the community and the kids. We\u2019ll coordinate around testing, school schedules, and other daily operations to minimize disruptions as much as possible,\u201d Banatao said.<\/p>\n

Other planned upgrades include new playground equipment, additional restrooms for students and staff, and modernized electrical, plumbing, and solar systems. <\/p>\n

The renovation will also update the school\u2019s original 1951 building, including improvements to the auditorium, and create new staff lounge spaces, further enhancing the campus environment for educators and students alike.<\/p>\n

Banatao said the community has responded positively to the plans. \u201cThe community was impressed by the plans and is looking forward to the new designs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The modernization represents the most significant update to Bird Rock Elementary since it opened.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LA JOLLA \u2013 Bird Rock Elementary School will begin a major renovation this summer to modernize its 75-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":547844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,36328,240804,1582,276,56660,3548,15959,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-547843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bird-rock","10":"tag-bird-rock-elementary-school","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-elementary-school","14":"tag-la-jolla","15":"tag-renovation","16":"tag-san-diego","17":"tag-sandiego","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115969606887934202","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}