Grand Rapids — Derrick Martin walked into Innovation Central High School — formerly named Central High School — in fall 1996 for his first day of school.
On the first day of school this year, he walked alongside his students and staff into the newly renovated, completely air-conditioned building as the new principal, celebrating the completion of a three-year renovation project for Innovation Central.
Martin said having a new heating and cooling system creates a comfortable learning environment for everyone. Students shared their thoughts as well.
“It definitely feels nicer in the classroom,” junior Carson Johnson said. “I like having the (air conditioning); it makes it easier to learn.”
Several Innovation Central students were involved in the design and renovation project from the beginning, Martin said.
“I’d rather be freezing in my classroom,” senior Yoelvis Rodriguez said.
A transfer student from City Middle High, junior Emmanuel Tesfaye added, “I can tell a lot of heart went into the renovation.”
Building Better Learning Environments
The three-year, $40 million renovation to Innovation Central was funded by a 2015 voter-approved bond and included installing natural light-enhancing windows and phase one of a full auditorium renovation.
The building — which also houses the Grand Rapids Montessori Middle-High School program — received 400 new, historically accurate windows, increasing the amount of daylight in classrooms by 7,600 square feet, according to the district.
Project highlights also included masonry improvements to restore the building’s exterior, new classroom technology, LED lighting and a new safe and secure entrance.
Martin said the renovations will allow for a consolidation with Riverside Middle School leading up to the 2025-26 school year, according to the district’s “Reimagine GRPS With Us!” facilities master plan.
“I’m so extremely excited for students to have enhanced learning experiences in our classrooms,” he said.
Today’s Innovation Central students walk the same hallways as their principal, as well as other successful alumni like First Lady Betty Ford and astronaut Roger B. Chaffee. The building also holds historical education significance in the state, Martin noted, which is another reason why its renovations were important to the district.
“We want this to be a safe and productive building for scholars and preserve our history as the oldest operating high school in Michigan,” he said.
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