Protests at CEIP Canyada del Fenollar: "We won't stop until we have the new school"

With blue and black ribbons. This is how the community of CEIP La Canyada del Fenollar has chosen to protest the "temporary" situation that has persisted for 15 years, during which the kindergarten and primary students of this Alicante school have been taught in temporary classrooms. Parents, teachers, and students gathered at the school entrance this Friday, chanting "we want a new school". The president of the school's parents' association, Marina Benimeli, highlights the symbolic meaning of the ribbons tied to the school's fence this Friday.

"The blue and black symbolize the tragedy that a torrent of water could cause to our school." This is the core reason why the protest has gained momentum in recent weeks, as CEIP La Canyada del Fenollar is located in the middle of a floodplain, posing a high risk of flooding in the event of heavy rain. "Half of the children don't come to school when it rains," Benimeli explains, with her statements gaining weight with the memory of the tragic DANA in Valencia, which marks one month this Friday.

Representatives of the parents' association attended the Alicante City Council meeting this past Thursday, where they presented their long-standing demands. "We will continue our protests until the air fresheners are in the bathrooms of the new school," Benimeli explains, quoting a fellow association member who presented the group's demands to the municipal corporation members.

The Alicante city council has a significant role to play in this matter, as the new school's construction project is pending on their table. The works, valued at 4.8 million euros, have increased by an additional 1.5 million due to delays. "The works are expected to last 22 months; nearly two years during which we could face several floods," explains the parents' association president, who has a meeting scheduled with Alicante's Education Councillor on December 5th. During this meeting, parents will demand a "roadmap to understand the project's development firsthand."

The new facilities are intended to address the severe deficiencies that Marisa Benimeli describes as follows: "The temporary classrooms flood when it rains heavily. Sometimes water has even come out of the sockets. Additionally, some kindergarten students have to go outside to use the bathroom."

CEIP La Cañada del Fenollar will be built on the urbanized plot provided by the City Council, located between Aucuba and Madroño streets. It will feature four kindergarten classrooms and six primary classrooms, along with three additional ordinary classrooms, support and special education rooms, a kitchen and dining area for 392 diners in two shifts, offices, a gymnasium, multipurpose rooms, storage, a library, and a caretaker's residence, all with a total usable area of 1,475 square meters, which rises to 3,380 square meters of constructed space.

Additionally, it will include 2,420 square meters of outdoor spaces comprising extensions of the kindergarten classrooms to the outside, porches, a sports court, play areas for kindergarten and primary students, a school garden, landscaped areas, and a car park.

The project is developed over two floors, with a U-shaped ground floor featuring perimeter walkways that overcome the plot's slope. The first floor, accessible from both the exterior and interior of the ground floor, complements the rest of the classroom program.