What's the Lake Oswego School District building this summer?

This summer marks the beginning of the end of construction projects funded by the Lake Oswego School District’s 2021 capital bond.

Around the school district, facility improvements and construction are scheduled for the short window between the last day of school and the first day of the 2024-25 school year.

The last major construction project in the 2021 bond slate is the rebuild of Lake Oswego Middle School, formerly known as Lake Oswego Junior High, which is set to reopen at the start of the 2026-27 school year.

Demolition of LMS began the first day of summer, although major demolition of the building itself hasn’t yet started. Before the building can come down, teachers must move out of their classrooms and salvage valuable materials from the old facilities.

Executive Director of Project Management Tony Vandenberg said the district is working with local fire and police departments for training opportunities in the building before mass demolition begins.

In addition to the demolition of LMS, both high schools are undergoing science classroom renovations this summer, Palisades World Language School enters phase two of its renovation and crews will finish building the Lake Oswego Recreation and Aquatics Center (which the city of Lake Oswego is also funding through a bond measure) in late Fall.

Lake Oswego voters passed the 2021 bond with 54%, raising $180 million for facilities renovations and replacements of older schools including Lakeridge Middle School and Rivergrove Elementary School.

“I am most proud of the new innovative spaces that are included in the new River Grove building. Building off of the success of Lakeridge Middle School, River Grove incorporates similar sustainable and resilient design features,” Vandenberg said in an email. “The new elementary school is the first new elementary school in Lake Oswego in about 25 years.”

High school science labs

The first phase of the high school science classroom renovations allowed crews to avoid working outside during the July heat wave as they began foundational work at Lakeridge and Lake Oswego High Schools.

“Our teams are fortunate enough to be mostly working in existing facilities (high schools) that remain cool during the days. Some of our other projects have teams starting a bit earlier to avoid the extreme heat. The frequency of safety talks around heat-related illness and water breaks is evident,” said Vandenberg by email.

Last year, both high schools received new career and technical education spaces, including state-of-the-art kitchens, new outdoor classrooms and greenhouses. This summer, work begins on bringing digital learning technology to science classrooms.

At Lakeridge, these improvements will be made to the existing science wing. At LOHS, crews will build a third floor onto the science wing. At both schools the renovations include new storage cabinets, lab tables, equipment, technology and mechanical upgrades. The spaces will be far more flexible across scientific disciplines and could potentially incorporate healthcare occupational learning and functionality.

“Due to the size of the renovation, approximately half of the classrooms will be completed in phase 2 during summer '25,” said Vandenberg by email.

Palisades World Language School is undergoing its second phase of renovations that began last summer. These include new domestic water piping, classroom mechanical systems, technology upgrades, exterior doors and new paint finishes inside and outside the building.

Westridge Elementary School will receive inclusive playground enhancements to match the other primary-level facilities in the district.

Looking ahead

Although it must complete a summer of demolition and construction first, the project management team is looking ahead to the upcoming 2025 bond renewal and the potential to continue the innovations of the 2017 and 2021 bonds.

“We need to start fresh and look to leadership, staff, and students as to how elementary education is delivered,” said Vandenberg.

Vandenberg said he’s proud of the innovative design and success of the new River Grove Elementary building. The design incorporates open innovation labs, libraries and common spaces and L-shaped classrooms that extend classroom configuration possibilities.

These sorts of sustainable and creative innovations will be utilized in the design of future district elementary school replacement buildings.

More information about bond-funded construction in the district and the 2025 bond renewal is available online at www.losdschools.org/Page/2198.