The Office of Capital Programs recently hosted a Grand Opening ribbon-cutting event for the new T.M. Peirce Elementary School, which is designed to offer 21st-century learning environments and energy-efficient systems. Spread across 77,000 square feet and with three stories, it is a modern facility that aims for LEED Gold certification.

The event showcased current students and allowed the Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School Marching Band to perform for their feeder school, past, and future alums. The gymnatorium hosted over 200 guests, while the first-floor cafeteria was filled with breakfast treats from Boomers Kitchen. The special guest of the Principal was Joan Schoch, an alumnus of Simon Gratz and the mother of the Educational Facility Planner assigned to this particular capital project. This was an all-star historical event for the North Philadelphia community!