HUMBOLDT — Reading intervention teacher Bonnie Welch hopes a bright new reading room will inspire her students, not only while they are in her class, but long after.
“It’s exciting to see what you pour into kids and how they use it in the future,” she said.
Welch and other teachers have spent the past week or so preparing for students in the Humboldt district to return to class Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, the community gathered to celebrate the opening of two new buildings: a four-classroom wing at Humboldt Elementary School and a new technology building at the middle and high school campus.
The buildings were made possible by a $17.5 million school bond project approved by voters in 2022.
Construction continues on some parts of the project, including a new entrance and elevator at the high school. Superintendent Amber Wheeler said a larger celebration with an open house will be scheduled once all projects are complete. Work is expected to wrap up over the winter break, so she anticipates the open house will be in January.
AT THE elementary school, three large classrooms and the reading room feature bright, welcoming decor. Wide hallways with a checkered gray-and-white floor connect the rooms with a door between the new wing and the original building. The new wing also includes restrooms.
Each classroom includes multiple, large windows to allow natural light. Built-in cubbies and cabinets offer plenty of storage. White boards and television screens allow teachers to take advantage of the latest technology.
The reading room, which Welch calls “Cub Club,” is designed to provide extra reading assistance for kindergarten through fifth grade.
Welch said she and two paraprofessionals spent hours moving into the new room and trying to figure out how to arrange an assortment of books and learning material.
“It’s like moving into a new house. You shift things around to find out where you want it,” she said.
A HUGE new art room is the centerpiece of the new technology building, which is located to the east of the middle school. The addition includes two other large classrooms and another room with a sink and kitchenette.
Art teacher Aubrey Jones glowed with enthusiasm as she talked about the extra space and large storage room she’ll use to teach students. Another room offers dedicated space for two kilns, and she’ll no longer have to swap them around to meet students’ needs.
Her previous classroom featured just one small window. Now, she has five large windows.
“It gives us natural light, which is so important,” she said. 
And speaking of the old art room, it has been remodeled to serve as the journalism classroom. Humboldt High School is known for its award-winning journalism program and is welcoming back one of its own to lead it. Hailey Philips graduated from HHS and from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. After working as a reporter and editor for newspapers across Kansas, Phillips took over as editor of the Chanute Tribune in June 2023. She left the paper in July to teach journalism at HHS.
