The newly renovated James Madison Middle School will reopen next week, still with its 1929 arched ceilings and ornate moldings, but now with computerized "smart boards" instead of blackboards.

The school has been closed for the past few years for a $38 million renovation while students attended classes at Boren Junior High in Delridge. When they start back to school next week, students will be able to see through the remodeled building to Genesee Hill and the Olympic Mountains beyond.

The front entry and the arched ceiling of the old front hallway were designated as protected parts of a city landmark, along with the building's exterior and other parts of the original structure.

The arched ceiling along with its ornate moldings now form the lid over the entries to the school's rearranged main office. Check out the fossils visible in the polished limestone countertop in the main office. There are more polished limestone counters in the new library right across the hall from the office.

To create more teaching spaces within the school's existing footprint, architects narrowed the halls and expanded the size of classrooms, said Principal Jill Hudson.

Classrooms are arranged in clusters so that each grade is kept intact in a different part of the school. That makes a school of 900 students more manageable, Hudson said. The sixth-graders, being the youngest grade, get the top floor.

Each grade has two "team areas" for 150 students with classrooms arranged around a central room. Classrooms have side doors to the adjoining classrooms so teachers can team teach some subjects.

Computer technology is abundant in the refurbished middle school. All classrooms are equipped with a "document camera," a TV camera that takes live pictures of a map, text or 3-dimensional objects. The camera sends the image to a ceiling-mounted projector, which shines the image onto a "smart board" hung on the wall. The white board is about 5 feet wide and 3 feet tall.

The smart board also acts as an interactive computer screen. Just like a touch screen computer, a teacher or student can touch the projected images on the smart board to trigger a reaction in the computer.

The interactive whiteboards can replace roll-up wall maps, which become obsolete soon after printing as countries change their borders and names.

Smart boards will enable students to design 3-dimensional objects they'll be able to make out of plastic. Wood shop is a thing of the past, Hudson said.

A computer lab with about 30 terminals is in a room adjoining the library. Meanwhile the school also will use a "laptop cart." Rather than the students going to where the computers are located, the laptop cart can be pushed to the classroom.

While the team areas are on the upper floors, classrooms for elective courses are on the main floor. Art classes will be taught on one side of the main floor while language classes will be clustered at the other side.

About 20 percent of Madison students perform music so the renovated school has a new acoustical band room. It's equipped with recording devices so students can record and instantly replay portions of their rehearsals.

An area called the Commons serves as a high-windowed cafeteria and small auditorium, complete with a stage that's also a classroom. Schoolwide assemblies will be held in the gymnasium.

It will take three lunch sessions, arranged according to class, to feed the Madison student body, said Vic Anderson, assistant principal.

The new school also has some game areas near the Commons because middle school students need places to work off excess energy during lunch, Principal Hudson said,.

West of the Commons is an outdoor deck where students can shoot hoop, jump rope, play foursquare or just chat. School officials wanted to move the play area away from its former, more prominent location at Southwest Spokane Street and 45th Avenue to better protect students, Hudson said.

A game room equipped with foosball and table tennis is east of the Commons.

The Commons is set one level lower than the school's main hallway. Buildings behind the old Madison Middle School were demolished and some of the slope was dug out to create the Commons.

The excavated dirt was placed on the football field to raise its height. The football field was replanted and a three-lane running track installed around the field.

The gymnasium, which was built in 1972, now has a new roof, refurbished floor and bleachers. The locker rooms are getting a makeover too.

An outdoor amphitheater made of granite boulders has been carefully set on the slope west of the main building. Ramps for disabled students also serve as walkways among the different levels of the sloping site.

Paths also go to the northern end of the campus, which has been landscaped with native plants. It will serve as an outdoor teaching area.

The school's health clinic continues in a new, better-equipped space. The clinic has a full-time nurse, full-time mental health counselor and full-time family counselor.

Parents of two-thirds of Madison students have signed up to allow their children to be treated there.

"This is all thanks to the taxpayers," said Samara Hoag, the school nurse. "We are very grateful."

The school also is now equipped with elevators, ramps and doorways to accommodate disabled students.

Structural improvements to Madison Middle School were paid for by the $398 million Building Excellence capital levy approved by voters in 2001. The technology upgrades are covered by the $178 million Building Renovations, Technology and Athletic Fields levy. That was approved by voters last year.

James Madison Middle School is located at 3429 45th Ave. S.W. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the rebuilt school is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6. The public is invited to tour the school during a celebration of the its reopening from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.