300+ Attend Grand Opening of Sparkling New Des Moines Elementary
New, Larger Elementary School Opens On Time, On Budget
"Des Moines Elementary is a bigger, stronger family now!" Librarian Karen Smith told the 300 community members, elected officials, families and staff at the grand opening ceremony on September 26.
She and student speaker Sahiba Minhas, 5th grade student, helped district and community leaders cut the ribbon. "I love my new school," Sahiba said.
The sparkling new classrooms, main office, library, music rooms, community room, and gym were opened for everyone to tour.
Community members and families gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to the beautiful, whimsical new building that promotes student imagination, curiosity, collaboration and learning. Thank you, planners, designers, builders and voters!
Speakers included:
- Rick Wisen, Principal
- Susan Enfield, Superintendent
- Bernie Dorsey, School Board President
- Matt Pina, Mayor, City of Des Moines
- Rose Clark, Co-Chair, Capital Facilities Advisory Committee
- Kyla Blair, Vice President, Yes for Highline
- Karen Smith, Teacher-Librarian
- Sahiba Minhas, 5th grade student
Elected officials in attendance:
- U.S. Senator Adam Smith's representative Marvin Eng
- Sen. Karen Keiser
- Rep. Mia Gregerson
- King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove
- City of Des Moines Councilmembers:
- Luisa Bangs
- Traci Buxton
- Robert Back
- Matt Mahoney
- Jeremy Nutting
- Vic Pennington
- Matt Pina, Mayor
Grand Opening Photos
More Photos & Feature Article
- Des Moines Grand Opening, Facebook Photo Album
- Déjà vu for Librarian Karen Smith: Speaker at Valley View (1969) & Des Moines (2019) Grand Openings, Facebook feature post.