When students at A.K. Suter Elementary School returned to class today, they saw bulldozers and heard the cacophony of construction.

Besides reading, writing and multiplying, they’ll get used to sharing their building with construction workers for the remainder of the school year.

Right before their eyes, brick and mortar is rising from the red dirt to become their new place to grow and learn.

“It will great for the kids who deserve a clean, decent environment,” said Linda Moultrie, chairman of Escambia County School Board. “It was designed with an eye on growth in the future.”

Moultrie was among a group of school officials, construction workers and guests who toured the new building and got a glimpse of work in progress.

A.K. Suter joined Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill in construction projects paid for by the local option sales tax, which comes up for renewal this year.

At a cost of $21 million, the 110,000 square-foot, two-story building has 35 classrooms, a media center — equipped with fiber optic cables for advanced technology — an art room and a spacious auditorium/cafeteria.

The current 443 students started the school year in the old building on Pickens Avenue in East Pensacola Heights, It was constructed in 1921 and had its last renovation at the end World War II in 1945.

They will move into brand-new classrooms when school reconvenes after the Christmas break in January. The construction’s second phase should be done by July 2015.

After completion, the new school can accommodate 600 students but has enough space to expand to 800 if needed.

Principal Russell Queen, said he’s excited about the opportunity the new school presented for his students and staff.

“This is absolutely amazing,” Queen said. “They (architects) listened to all of our concerns and suggestions, and things couldn’t have gone any better.”

After the work is done, the old school will be demolished to make room for more parking as well a covered play area.

The new building — with brick veneer and cement board exterior siding — will reflect the style and history of the East Pensacola Heights neighborhood.

Curved hallways, covered walkways, stairwells with expansive glass, a slopped roof and a cavernous courtyard for galleries, festivals and other events are some of many architectural amenities, said Morette Construction’s Gordon Gunn, project manager.

Escambia schools Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said he’s pleased with the progress of the construction, but he won’t get too excited until students show up in the new building.

“Just like a home is not a home without a family, a school is not a school without little people,” Thomas said. “When I see fifth-graders in a classroom, that is what is going to make this worthwhile.”

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