Topeka ? As the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case approaches, work on the former segregated elementary school that plaintiff Linda Brown attended is nearing completion.

National Park Service staff began moving this week from their temporary quarters into Monroe School.

“It feels good to be home,” said LaTonya Miller, the historic site’s spokeswoman and education director.

Once one of four Topeka elementary schools set aside for black children, Monroe Elementary was established in 1992 as a National Historic Site in the National Park Service.

Linda Brown was a student at the all-black school. In 1951, her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll the 9-year-old in an all-white school that was closer to their home. His request was denied.

The lawsuit that he and several other black Topeka families filed, along with three similar suits from Delaware, South Carolina and Virginia, resulted in the landmark decision that overturned the doctrine of “separate but equal.”

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site will open to the public on May 17, 2004, the 50th anniversary of the case.

By Jan. 12, the remaining sawdust and scaffolding should be swept clear on the first floor. Then, installation of the audio visual and media displays will begin.

Miller said the displays would feature audio recordings of interviews with original plaintiffs in the case, video footage and computer programs to teach visitors about the historic desegregation case and race relations in the United States.

The second floor of the school will house the park service offices, the Brown Foundation offices and a classroom containing 40 high-tech, interactive computers, Miller said.