Tulsa -
Will Rogers High School announced the completion of new windows this week.
The art deco school received a citation of merit from the Oklahoma Historical Society for a $1.9 million exterior update project that was years in the making.
In 2007, Will Rogers High School was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
"Right now we're just completing the installation of windows in the entire facility, almost nine-hundred new windows," Bob LaBass told Tulsa's Channel 8 on Friday.
Bob LaBass is the Director of Bond Projects and Energy Management for Tulsa Public Schools (TPS).
LaBass said these new dual-paned windows replaced the school's original windows that were fitted in 1938.
The renovations were funded by a voter-approved bond in 2010 and were carried out by Fritz Baily Architects and Trigon General Contractors.
"We've already seen a fourteen percent decrease in energy costs," LaBass said.
"We relocated the cafeteria, gave it an outside eating area," LaBass said, "to give the kids more of a college experience as they go through Will Rogers."
The new cafeteria, along with two new lecture halls, are intended to provide students with a more college-like high school experience.
In 2011, TPS converted Will Rogers to a dual-enrollment school for students, offering college credits up to the equivalent of an associate's degree.
It has since been renamed Will Rogers College High School. It is located at 3909 East 5th Place in Tulsa.
The school was named for Cherokee humorist, cowboy, vaudeville performer, and actor Will Rogers.
Tulsa's Channel 8's own Yvonne Lewis is a Rogers High School alumnus.
Will Rogers College High School
Will Rogers College High School
