History
Heritage Heights Elementary School was built in 1971. The cornerstone was laid on May 22, 1971, the building opened on September 8, 1971, and was dedicated on December 4, 1971. The school was originally constructed as an "open school", meaning that there were no permanent walls dividing classrooms. Eventually, concrete walls would be installed in each room. [1] Grade levels are divided into separate pods at different corners of the building.
The original Principal Dr. David Ebert led an amazing staff of educators in a new way of "team" teaching. While the kindergarten area was designed for two separate classrooms, there was a large playroom that adjoined the two classrooms for indoor playtime. Originally, the classrooms were designed in grade clusters, with a single entry area, and bi-fold soundproof walls between four classrooms per cluster. Classes would often have their own instruction time in the mornings, and while the students were at one of the two lunch areas, teachers would open the bi-fold doors, and take turns teaching the afternoons' common class. Each classroom had sliding doors that allowed classes to experience more of the outdoors, and environment around them. The original sandbox in the playground was created with vertical logs, with a huge sandpit in the middle. A few years later, tennis courts and summer art programs for the students were installed.
In January 2014 Heritage Heights was up for closing because of being too expensive to run. After one Board of Education meeting in March 2014, it was decided that Heritage Heights would stay open on a 5 to 2 vote.
