Earthwork Underway For New Alton Middle School Auxiliary Gym

ALTON - Those passing by Alton Middle School may notice considerable construction earthwork for a new auxiliary gym is underway.

"This is part of our Alton School District construction and renovation projects, a new auxiliary gym is being constructed at Alton Middle School," Alton District 11 Superintendent Dr. Kristie Baugartner, said this week. "The new gym is expected to be complete by the start of the 2021-22 school year. The new gym will be complete with a multipurpose court and locker rooms.

"Over 1,400 students are currently enrolled at Alton Middle School and the additional gym will serve both physical education classes and extracurricular activities. Despite creative scheduling, P.E. classes can run as high as 90 students causing teachers to run stations or rotations for activities due to limited space.

"The new gym will allow smaller class sizes as students can be assigned to the new gym for P.E. Likewise, athletic and other practices can also now take place in the new gym. Due to the larger number of teams, many middle school practices have to take place at other schools in the District or scheduled at times other than right after school."

Baumgartner closed by saying: "The new gym will provide another opportunity to keep students on campus for these activities."

Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.

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