Students Build Picnic Tables To Create Outdoor Classrooms

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — On Tuesday, students, staff and community volunteers came together at Wendell Krinn Technical School in New Port Richey to create three outdoor classrooms to ensure social distancing when the school year begins Aug. 24.

With the help of volunteers from the Pinellas County chapter of the national nonprofit group, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which builds beds for disadvantaged children, the group built 20 picnic tables from scratch using pressure-treated wood.

The project comes roughly two weeks before Pasco County schools return to class to start the 2020-21 school year. Due to coronavirus concerns, schools have been working to create a safe and healthy environment for their students and staff.

“Having additional classroom space outdoors will make it a lot easier to create social distance, and that will create a healthier environment for everyone,” said Principal Christopher Dunning.

And once the coronavirus restrictions are lifted, Dunning said "the outdoor classrooms will be an awesome opportunity for our students to learn in a different environment."

Additionally, the students, staff and volunteers assembled picnic tables to provide more outdoor cafeteria seating during lunchtime "so we can space out safely," Dunning said.

"We're doing everything we can to make sure everything is as safe and awesome for our students as possible," he said.