From left, Ione Junior High School students Adam Camden, Karly Workman, Vanessa Williams, Jessica Windship, Emily Baldwin, Holly Kemp and Melissa Doherty enjoy a break between classes outside the school's new building, which opened its doors in November. Photo by: Bethany A. Monk Ione Junior High School students visit with each other a few minutes before class begins on April 22. Their classroom is one of the 13 classrooms in the school's new building, which opened in the beginning of the school year. Photo by: Bethany A. Monk

A new, state-of-the-art building, offering teachers and students access to newer technology and spacious classrooms, opened in November at Ione Junior High School. It has been a hit ever since.

On April 22, Amador County Unified School District trustees toured the building before their monthly meeting. Members of the public, including parents and staff, as well as Ione City Manager Kim Kerr, were among those who went on the tour, trustee Pat Miller told the Ledger Dispatch. The school's principal, Dr. Bill Murray, led the tour and let visitors see the new classrooms and their respective technological components.

"We all thought it was great," Miller told the Ledger Dispatch. "It's an outstanding facility. We walked through all the classrooms and got to meet with one of the teachers," he said, noting that visitors got to see the Smart Board in action. This piece of equipment, Miller said, is like a modern-day projector. "You can take material out of a book and project it on the screen," he said.

The multi-level building also has an elevator for those with disabilities, Miller said. There are also several safety eyewash stations for students to use in their science classes.

The building cost a total of $5 million to construct, Murray told the Ledger Dispatch; developer fees covered $3 million and state funds covered $2 million.

"In the district, our buildings are fairly antiquated," Murray said. The oldest building on campus was built in 1903. It was the original schoolhouse and is still in use, he said. In fact, classes were held there until earlier this school year. The school's parents' club has since raised $3,500 to renovate the building's interior. The two-room schoolhouse will be ready for use as a library and media center by the beginning of next school year.

Murray said the older buildings, coupled with the new infrastructure, create a nice campus.

The new building is able to offer more space and more opportunities for teachers and students via newer technology, he said. "It certainly brings a real world kind of experience to the classroom," Murray said.

The building boasts 13 rooms total. Four of the rooms are for science classes and are equipped with science labs; the remaining rooms are general education classrooms.

"I think it was built for the anticipation of growth in the county," Murray added. The now-empty classrooms in some of the older buildings, he said, can be used should enrollment rise.

Students are also pleased with the new addition to their campus.

"I like it," said seventh-grader Emily Baldwin, during a break between classes. "It's bigger. There's more space. There's projectors."

"It's pretty cool," said Adam Camden, a seventh-grader who has a history and science class in the new building. "It has an elevator for people who can't walk upstairs. It has more technology. We can hook up our laptops."

"It makes learning more fun," said Vanessa Williams, also in seventh grade.

In other news, the school recently became a California Distinguished School. Outside the new building, a banner stating the school's new honor is draped just below the building's clock tower that stretches to the sky. Argonaut High School in Jackson is also newly minted as a California Distinguished School.

According to the California Department of Education Web site, the criteria for school selection for the state's distinguished school awards are based on an application submission, a detailed description of the school's successful programs, an application review and a site visit; schools must also meet certain eligibility criteria such as reaching the designated federal and state accountability measures based on No Child Left Behind, and the Adequate Yearly Progress and Academic Performance Index requirements.