GAINESVILLE – Children who walked through the front doors of Enota Elementary in 1954, when the school first opened, have since had their children and grandchildren walk through the same doors; as a result the roots of history and tradition run deep within the aging school building.
Now known as Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy, roots of another and more recent type are drawing attention as the student body prepares to relocate across town for the next school year or longer so demolition and reconstruction can take place on the Enota Drive property.
These more recent roots that have come to the forefront are literal rather than figurative, nevertheless, they mean a lot to those who have invested themselves in their establishment. Namely, they are the roots of the school garden, planted roughly eight years ago.
Meeting attendee and retired judge John Girardeau said, “What’s important is that as much of the garden be preserved in place as can be, given the construction plans and the requirements of construction.”
Girardeau was one of nearly twenty people in attendance at the first of three scheduled informational meetings hosted by the Gainesville City School System to provide an update on the proposed move and new construction plans.
Enota Principal Wesley Roach said maintaining the historical “feel” of the existing neighborhood was an important aspect in the exterior design of the new school.
“The general consensus was,” Roach began, “that the community would like to have a building that had a more-traditional look…that would be more consistent with the tradition and heritage of the neighborhood.”
“Not every school has the arms of a neighborhood wrapped around it like Enota does,” Roach said.
“It’s not modern, edgy or science-fiction looking,” Roach added as he revealed a front elevation drawing of the new building.
Good, everyone agreed regarding the architecture, but what about the placement of the building?
“Would the builder be able to preserve the garden?” was the first and most frequently asked question.
Former Enota principal Sally Meaders retired in 2008, about the time the garden began, and shared these concerns.
“I think we need to build a new Enota and I think it needs to on this site,” Meaders said.
“I think the plan is a beautiful plan, and I know that the school board and the superintendent will be anxious to work with us as we save the garden because the garden is a focal point of the school,” she added.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Mark and Mildred Fockele of Gainesville. Mildred said, “Originally the garden was started by Sally Meaders and some of the teachers and parents…in 2008 we decided to build a garden out in front of the school…for the students and the faculty and the parents and the community.”
“Our goal is to preserve eight years of hard work on the part of community members, neighbors, grandparents, parents, students, who’ve come and helped plan the garden, plant the garden and maintained the garden.”
Fockele says that $123,000 has been invested in the garden and she would like to see the new building situated and constructed so as to preserve as much of the existing garden as possible.
Realizing the significance of preserving the garden, Principal Roach and Adrian Niles, Director of Maintenance and Operations for Gainesville City Schools, agreed to arrange a meeting with the architect, civil engineer, school officials and the concerned citizens to discuss the placement of the new building on the site and efforts that can be taken to preserve the “roots” of the garden, an integral part of Enota’s identity.
