New floors, doors, office on Phase 3 list
By SUSAN LEATHERS
Brentwood Home Page
The new Newsweek and Washington Post rankings of the nation’s top public high schools proved it doesn’t take a beautiful new building to have a great school. (See related story, click here.)

Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School in downtown Nashville is located on the site of that city’s first public school. Its current building was constructed in 1912. Brentwood High opened in 1982 and is now among Williamson County’s oldest school buildings.

But in recent summers, two phases of construction and renovation have updated and enlarged the Murray Lane school. BHS is closed again this summer for its third, and final, phase of work.

The 2011 project list doesn’t include anything as sexy as the media center and new science labs completed in 2009 during phase one. Still, principal Kevin Keidel said, all of the improvements being completed will help student and staff morale.

On this year’s list is a major facelift of the administrative office and guidance center. Plans there call for replacement of all doors, hardware, and carpet, and the addition of new windows and shatterproof glass that will go from floor to ceiling, opening up the area to make it more welcoming.

“We’re never going to look like a new school,” said Keidel, who will enter his 10^th year as Brentwood’s principal in August. “I think there is some pride involved but more than anything, the work has been educationally based.

“We’re not just doing a facelift, but doing things that are really going to benefit the kids.”

“The media center is the biggest project we did because it’s the focal point of the school,” Keidel continued. The renovation of existing and addition of new science labs has resulted in “more effective and efficient use of our space now.”

The entire BHS administrative staff has moved its operations to the eighth grade wing at adjacent Brentwood Middle School for the summer. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and all phone numbers and email addresses for the school and staff remain the same.

So what else is included on the Phase 3 list? Kevin Fortney, Williamson County Schools’ facility director shared a long list. It includes:  

Removing and replacing vinyl composition floor tile in the classroom corridors.

Removing and replacing all classroom corridor doors with new laminate doors.

New ADA compliant hardware on all classroom and administration office doors.

Removing corridor windows and hollow metal frames and replacing with aluminum frames and Lo-E shatterproof glass.

Replace reception desk in administrative office similar to the attendance office.

Remove and replace interior signage throughout the school building with ADA compliant signage.

Install ceramic/porcelain floor tile over the terrazzo floors in the gymnasium lobby.

Refinish and paint all cross corridor doors.

Refinish and paint all interior hollow metal doors and frames.

Refinish and paint all gymnasium hollow metal doors and frames.

Paint the Campbell Center.

Remove worn out partition wall in principal’s office and construct new conference room.

Remove and replace carpet in all administrative offices.

Paint all administrative offices.

“This work will be done by August 5,” Fortney said.