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New School in Overcrowded Corona Welcomes Students on First Day

By Katie Honan | September 9, 2013 2:19pm
 The new school building on Northern Boulevard will help overcrowding in the district.
Brand-New Corona School Welcomes Students
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CORONA — It's a new chapter on school in Corona.

A new elementary school that will hopefully ease the overcrowding in the most packed district in the city opened its doors Monday, even though workers were still putting the finishing touches on the building.

Work was still being done around P.S. 330 on Northern Boulevard, near 111th Street, including the railings and an entry in the back of the school. A temporary certificate of occupancy was issued in time for the first day of school, according to the School Construction Authority.

It was not clear how much work remained to be done on the building or when it would be completed.

But the upstairs classrooms were finished, and the entrance — where Principal Lashawnna Harris greeted parents and students with a big smile — was ready with new doors and a sign on Monday.

The four-story building will help alleviate overcrowding in the district, and was expected to house 430 students this year, the Department of Education said.

P.S. 330 opened in 2010 as an overflow site to ease overcrowding in District 24, the DOE said. While construction was completed, the students were bused to a building in East Elmhurst.

The new school is closer to most students’ homes than the building the school was previously using on 53rd Avenue in Elmhurst, the DOE said.

Parents dropping off their kids — some decked out in khaki pants and green sweaters as part of the school uniform — were happy for the bright, airy design of the new building — as well as the location.

Maria Yrene, 26, watched through large windows as her 8-year-old daughter Ashley lined up in the new, underground gym.

There were familiar faces and the same teachers, she said, and the new school was much nicer.

“It’s way bigger than the old school, and has a gym and a cafeteria,” she said, noting that students in the old school used the same room for lunch and gym class.

“The school is more open,” said her husband Gustavo Yrene, 34. “They can see out, and we can see them.”

The DOE said school is expected to house 540 to 600 students when it reaches full capacity by 2017.

Janet Luna, 28, dropped off her 7-year-old daughter Janelly Luna and said the school is a “very big improvement” from the other building.

"At least they have a gym and cafeteria again," she said.