Back to school: Tulsa transforms former Wilson School for new Mayo Demonstration Academy

The calendar may say July for today and tomorrow but the reality is school starts for many area children in a few short weeks.

Tulsa Public Schools is in the middle of a major renovation on the former Wilson Middle School at 11^th and Columbia so the Mayo Demonstration Academy can begin classes August 20^th.

Mayo brings a different concept in education because it has open classrooms so Wilson Middle School built in the 1920's is in the middle of an extreme makeover.

"We are eliminating doors. And you will have more freedom and sharing of space basically,” says Bob LaBass with TPS.

He showed KRMG around the old school as crews continued to transform the building to open classrooms.

"That was previously one, two, three classrooms on this side and this was two classrooms over here,” says LaBass.

He showed us one big room that will now be home to pre-k classes that use to be the girls locker room.

LaBass adds crews also had to install bathroom fixtures, water fountains and other items to transform the school from a middle school to an elementary school and a new sprinkler system had to be added to meet code for the two-story school.

He says they don’t make schools like Wilson anymore and TPS wants to keep the entrance to the school which is a grand foyer- type entrance the way it is.

Mayo’s move to Wilson means room to grow.

"Mayo is going to be adding another class each year for the next two years, I believe. So, it is going to grow into it. It has been one of those where we had the demand but not the space,” says LaBass.

In addition to housing Mayo, the building will also be the new home to professional development for teachers which use to be at Fulton and had to move when the district sold the building.