DOWAGIAC — For the duration of the summer, walking into Dowagiac Union High School will mean walking into an active construction zone. Dust is currently covering every surface, empty spaces are where hallways used to be and power tools can be heard buzzing throughout the building. Despite this, school district officials say by the time students are walking back through the doors for the next school year, the building will be transformed.

Construction is well underway at the high school in order to complete renovations as part of a $37 million pair of bonds passed by district voters in 2015. The changes include new windows, new lockers, smart devices in most classrooms, adding teachers’ workspaces, an expanded parking area, added learning labs and a new gym. New security features are also being added by making more secure entryways, by adding buzzer systems and changing the front offices to make sure that visitors must go through the front office and sign in before having access to the rest of the building.

Additionally, smaller scale renovations are being added to Dowagiac’s four elementary school buildings.

“Having five construction zones going at once has been tricky,” Hartsig said. “But we think it will be worth it and add a lot to the district.”

Currently, the district is working on phase five of eight of the project, Hartsig said, adding that the work is on track to have the high school functional and ready by September and for all construction, including the new gym and science rooms, to be completed by December.

The most recent project completed was the addition of the high school’s media center. What was once a dark room — described as a “dungeon” by Hartsig — is now filled with light, colorful furniture that will function as a work space, complete with computers for students to use, for students to work in.

“We wanted to give a nice space that students can work in and learn in,” Hartsig said, comparing the work space to something one might see in a college setting. “Before, this was dark, built in the late ‘60s, and it wasn’t set up to be a comfortable, useable space. Now, I feel this is a lot more versatile and gives students a chance to experience more dynamic learning.”

Hartsig said he hopes the new space will encourage collaborative work between students to fit in with Dowagiac’s curriculum push toward more project based learning. There are even rooms within the media center for groups to meet for group projects or club meetings.

“We are trying to get our students into 21st century skills,” he said. “We want to give them opportunities to work collaboratively.”

Though there is still much work to be done, Hartsig is optimistic about the current state of construction and that the final renovations will be an asset to the students of Dowagiac schools.

“Right now, it’s hard to see the big picture,” said Superintendent Paul Hartsig. “But the more work gets done, the more I can imagine how it will look by fall.”