New school year, new renovations and a new campus for Visalia Unified School District

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Thursday was the first day of school in Visalia Unified and the district finally broke in their newest school, Denton Elementary.

They just opened about a week ago and 450 students are calling the new campus home.

In each classroom, you can find ample learning space, flexible furniture, and state of the art technology. Parent Lorraine Filomeno says the school is perfect for her three kids because it's close to home.

"We built our house about three years ago, so this is going to bring more families together and it's just a new adventure for us," she said.

If you cannot build a new school, the next best thing is modernizing, that is the case at Ivanhoe elementary.

"They have new desks because the old desks were so squeaky," said Ivanhoe fifth-grader Chris Gonzalez.

The K-8 school underwent a transformation over the summer.

Classrooms were gutted and brought into the present day.

Lesson plans can now easily be displayed on monitors for the entire class to see.

Principal George Rodriguez says this upgrade is big for the small community of Ivanhoe.

"This means pride, this means a buy into the city, a buy into the school," said Rodriguez. "The kids love this, the students love it and the families love it."

Redwood High School also revamped a work area for students. Science labs are looking brand new with more sinks, new furniture, and HVAC systems. The district said all their renovations are part of a district-wide initiative.

"The goal in modernization is always to be able to create the same learning environment, the same facility, regardless of your zip code," said Visalia Unified Assistant Superintendent of administrative services Robert Groeber.

A two-year modernization project is currently underway at Golden West High School. The district says soon another school will follow, a plan for a new high school is also in the works.