Odyssey Elementary upgrades set for October finish, include learning labs and resource center
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- Odyssey Elementary School in Ogden is pictured on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020.
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- A rendering of some of the new upgrades that are underway at Ogden’s Odyssey Elementary School. The upgrades are anticipated to be completed by mid-October.
OGDEN — A major upgrade to Odyssey Elementary School and its services to students and families alike is nearing the finish line.
Ken Crawford, director of support services and athletics with the Ogden School District, told the Standard-Examiner that a series of upgrades to the facility will be done in mid-October.
Crawford said the space it will occupy was well past its time and there was a need for upgrades.
“Odyssey Elementary had the Astro Camp there for a long time,” he said. “The space and the equipment has become outdated and kind of worn out its use. With the push to help educate our kids in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) more, we are remodeling that space to turn it into STEM space. It’ll have a STEM lab, it’ll have an art lab, it’ll have a music lab.”
There will also be printing labs, conference space for teachers and office space.
However, some of the space is also being remodeled to help combat a major issue affecting many of the school’s students.
“We are also remodeling some of the space to turn it into a resource center for some of our families that maybe are struggling with homelessness,” he said. “We will have a family and youth resource center for our students there at Odyssey where they’ll be able to wash their clothes, shower, prep a dinner meal, do their homework. There will also be a supervisor there and some office space there to help oversee that and connect them with other resources.”
The space is similar to resource centers that have been implemented in several Davis School District high schools, but Crawford said Odyssey’s stands out.
“It’s actually going to be the first one in the state for an elementary school,” he said. “It has some similarities (to Davis School District’s centers), but it’s really meant for those younger kids at the elementary school and for their parent or guardian to be able to meet their needs.”
The Ogden School District is also set to add similar resource centers at Ogden High School, Ben Lomand High School and the upcoming Ogden Technical High School.
Crawford said the time was right to convert some of the space at Odyssey to help fulfill a growing community need.
“Odyssey is three blocks from the Lantern House (homeless shelter) and we have several students that either are residents there at Lantern House or are dealing with other housing issues,” he said. “As we met with the administration at the school and recognized a greater need, we decided that as we were going to do this STEM remodel that this would be the perfect opportunity to put in this resource center as well.”
He said officials are excited to complete the project.
“We’re just really excited to be able to have this resource center completed and to be able to open it up to our families and really help our kids to be able to meet their needs,” he said. “We believe in educating the whole child and sometimes that requires a little bit more than reading, writing and arithmetic.”