Tallinn school to partially relocate youngest grades to nearby building
Tallinn School No. 21, a public school in the city center serving grades 1-12, plans on relocating half the classes in its youngest grades, which currently attend school during the evening shift, to a second school building nearby. Renovations are slated to begin on the other building soon.
"As part of Tallinn School No. 21's elementary school classes are on a second shift — with school for them starting at 12 p.m. — in order to get the school onto one shift, we need additional space," principal Meelis Kond told ERR. "And that's precisely the plan with that building — that part of our elementary school classes would start going there."
The school's primary building is located in Central Tallinn at Raua 6; the second school building, owned by the city, is located just a few blocks away, at Tartu mnt 23.
"We currently have 1,380 students and more," Kond highlighted. "The main idea is really to allow for students to attend school in a single shift."
Tallinn Education Department has announced a public procurement for the overhaul of the school building's technical systems as well as general repairs.
Kond said that the second school building can accommodate at least six or eight classes, meaning at least two grades' worth of elementary school classes should be able to attend school there.
"We have four [parallel classes], which then means two grades — either first and second, or third and fourth grades," he explained, adding that which of these two sets of grades would be relocated had yet to be decided.
"Also to be located there are other rooms for a speech therapist and a psychologist," the principal continued. "But that also means building out the top floor [of the school building] as well. So this [construction] work here may yet end up spanning several years."
Kond hopes that work on the building will be finished by the second half of the upcoming school year already, which means students could start attending school there in January instead of remaining on the evening shift.
"I guess we'll see, but at least one thing's for certain — that this work will be done by fall 2024," he added.
Designed by architect Carl Gustav Jacoby and completed in 1904, the historicist brick and limestone schoolhouse, designated a cultural monument, includes three floors, plus a basement and an attic level.
The previous tenant at the school building at Tartu mnt 23 was Edu Valem ("Formula for Success"), a Russian-language private school whose contract with the city ended on July 1.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
