The main entrance on the south side of Cordley Elementary School is shown in this photo from September 2015.

Editor’s note:This story is the fourth in a six-part series preceding Saturday’s public tour of the recently completed construction projects in the Lawrence school district.

Inside the addition to Cordley Elementary, 1837 Vermont St., 100-year-old red brick walls join walls of white sheetrock. In completing additions to the school, built in 1915, exterior walls of the original building were preserved by incorporating them into new construction, explained Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll.

“We wanted to maintain the feel of the old building,” Doll said, noting that the main entrance of the school has also been returned to the historic south entrance.

The main entrance on the south side of Cordley Elementary School is shown in this photo from September 2015.

In the school’s office, the original wood floors — restained and polished — also remain. What was before the north facade of the building, complete with white-trimmed, rectangular windows, stands as an interior wall facing the school’s expanded media center. The wall’s ground-level windows have been removed and refashioned into alcove benches.

“All of these touches help preserve our historical past while creating a modern learning environment for all of our learners,” said the school’s principal, Scott Cinnamon.

An elevator now runs between the school’s three floors, and other additions include three classrooms, eight learning pockets, as well as a new cafeteria and kitchen. Before, the school’s gym also served as the dining area, and the new space — with more than a dozen paneled windows — is a big benefit to students, Cinnamon said.

“It is a much more enjoyable atmosphere for all, with beautiful natural light coming into the space from our large windows looking out over the playground,” he said.

Third-grader Joy Hahn, 8, fills her water bottle from a new water fountain at Cordley Elementary School.

Cordley is one of five elementary schools in which additions and renovations were completed ahead of the new school year. Renovations at all schools include secure entrances; “hardened space” storm shelters with concrete ceilings; new heating and air-conditioning systems with classroom-specific adjustment; secure keypad-entry classroom doors; and attached bathrooms in kindergarten classrooms.

The school also has new conference rooms, resource offices and playground equipment. Several other spaces, such as art, music and special education rooms, were expanded or renovated, Cinnamon said.

“As for renovations, really everything in the building was touched in some degree,” he said.

Voters approved the $92.5 million school bond issue in April 2013 to improve facilities at all 20 schools in the district and build the new Lawrence College and Career Center, 2910 Haskell Ave.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the College and Career Center and a “Parade of Schools” will be this Saturday. The Parade of Schools will include the five schools where additions and renovations were recently completed: Langston Hughes, Cordley, Hillcrest, New York and Quail Run.