New Building
Community Groundbreaking and Demo Get Underway
Standing outside, beside the old Thomas Durham public school building as construction crews worked, Principal Jurate invited everyone to share in an old Lithuanian tradition—celebrating through music. ICS students and staff led the way, singing several songs and dancing as the families present toasted ICS’ next chapter.
Earlier in the day, a similar ceremony was held. This ceremony was attended by the ICS Board of Trustees, politicians, community groups, neighbors and the people instrumental in helping ICS secure and renovate the building. News teams from Channel 6 Action News (ABC), Al Dia and Impacto caught the action, as did The Philadelphia Tribune. ABC aired the story on their Friday evening and Saturday morning programs and the Tribune ran a story in their Sunday issue.
While these gatherings on Friday, November 2 marked the groundbreaking of our new building, work is actually well underway. All asbestos has been removed and specialists are now working on collecting and encapsulating any lead paint. Crews have been stripping down the building, removing pipes and breaking down walls to pave the way for our intended design. And a separate crew has demolished the side entrance in preparation for building an addition to house classrooms and administrative space.
