It will be a post-Labor Day start date for Shaler Area students in order to give construction crews time to tidy up and finish most of the renovation projects that began last year in preparation for the district's "Vision for the Future" program.

Sept. 8 will be the first day of school for kindergarten through 10th grade. Juniors and seniors, however, will be taking that day off, having reported to the high school on Sept. 5 for orientation. The upperclassmen will begin their normal classes on Sept 9.

Construction at the high school was to be completed by Aug. 29. "That date will still find much of the high school complete and turned back to us," Superintendent Donald Lee said. "But the contractors still will be hanging around for a month or two into 2008-09.

"We will essentially open this year much like we closed last year," he continued. "There will be some areas of the building that will still be under construction, but the majority of the space will be available to us for use."

Most of the building, located on Wible Road, will be completed. Dumpsters and construction supplies are now confined to one area so the front of the school looks welcoming. The administration offices are completed and functioning normally, as is the air conditioning. About 90 percent of the classrooms are open, student lockers are installed and the cafeteria will be open, although the kitchen will not be ready.

"We will bring in food from other kitchens and cook on portable gas grill outside, just like we did in May of last year," Dr. Lee said.

In addition, the high school librarians still will be placing materials on the newly installed stacks.

Both gyms are open with the exception of some work in the rafters that will take place during the evenings.

Of the building's 100 classrooms, 10 are still being renovated, including the new Family and Consumer Science rooms. Also a couple of the downstairs locker rooms are being completed.

"The football team is setting up their operation at the Mount Royal School for August and might have to stay with that format a couple weeks into the year, which means the Mount Royal Middle School is without a locker room as school opens," Dr. Lee said. The Shaler Titan football team will be ready for its home opener on Aug. 29.

The rest of the district's buildings that were remodeled in preparation for "Vision" are completed and ready for the new year and new configuration of students.

Children in kindergarten through the third grade will attend the district's primary centers -- Rogers, Burchfield, Jeffery, Marzolf and Reserve. Teachers at these schools will focus on early educational strategies designed specifically for the district's youngest students.

Shaler Area Elementary School will house students in grades four through six. These children will have an enhanced curriculum that includes art classes, a computer lab featuring robotics, and enhanced music rooms for band and chorus.

The district's seventh- and eighth-grade students will now attend the Middle School on Mount Royal Boulevard.

The school district has been planning for its Vision for the Future program since 2006. The community was asked to join administrators, architects and construction teams to develop the plan. Goals include providing academic direction and setting challenging standards for Shaler students.