West View Elementary School celebrates 100 years with grand reopening

A crowd of administrators, teachers, community members and students gathered Aug. 6 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and sneak peek of the newly renovated West View Elementary School.

The unveiling of the nearly $40 million project was a special moment, held 100 years since the school first opened.

Principal Jesse Simpson began the evening’s celebration with a short speech outside the entrance of 47 Chalfonte Ave.

“We are here today to celebrate 100 years of educating the children of West View and the North Hills community. That is the legacy of this building — a place to learn and a place to grow,” Simpson said.

When it was time to cut the red ribbon, school board members, teachers and administrators thought of one person who should do the honors: Chad Mueller, the school’s custodian of 13 years.

“Nobody has more passion and takes more pride in this building than Chad,” Simpson said. “He is a big reason why the building looks so beautiful today.”

Mueller was in complete shock when he was selected to grip the oversized pair of scissors to snip the ribbon.

“It took the breath out of me. I had tears in my eyes when they called my name,” said Mueller, a lifelong resident of West View.

For Mueller, it was seeing the pride that his father took in his work that helps him take so much pride in his own work.

“My dad just worked really hard, and he’s the reason I’m so good at my job,” Mueller said.

Inside the building that students will officially enter Aug. 20 — the first day of school for North Hills’ grades 1-12 — are murals and paintings of all things Pittsburgh and West View.

There are pictures of students from the past, artists who have impacted the area and shout-outs to local restaurants and food manufacturers. From Primanti Bros. and Sarris Candies to Clark Bars and Potato Patch fries, it’s all there.

Wyatt Nimpfer, 7, of West View attended the reopening with his mother, Jada, to see his new classroom.

“Wyatt is going into second grade. His sister went here, and she graduated from North Hills. He’s very excited to see the new building and follow in his sister’s footsteps,” Jada Nimpfer said.

Many teachers wandered the halls, speaking to the families, clearly excited to begin the new journey.

“So many people have sacrificed to make this happen. Our principal, Jess Simpson, has been a rock through all of this. This is a special day and this is a special place,” said Jennifer Potter, a second grade teacher.

School board members proudly walked the halls, taking in all of the excitement.

“I truly believe some of these kids that are here today are going to be on these walls someday,” said Dee Spade, vice chair of the school board.

Spade believes the building will last another 100 years. She extended a special thanks to North Hills Superintendent Patrick Mannarino and Simpson because it was their leadership that got the job done.

The building was built in 1925 as a junior high school and opened its doors to students that September. An addition was completed in 1939 to add grades 10, 11 and 12.

The nearly $40 million project, which began in 2022, included asbestos removal, new windows, new boilers, a new HVAC system and masonry refurbishment. It involved a reconfiguring of the building, which had undergone several facelifts over the years that resulted in a choppy layout that was hard to navigate.

“We had to save this building. This is one of the most important landmarks in West View. The students, the teachers and all the community deserve this,” Spade said.

Noted Simpson in a Facebook post thanking everyone who turned out for the reopening: “Our hope is to use this building as a teaching tool, to inspire students so they see anything is possible, and to instill in them that they are not alone, hundreds have come before them, and that they, our students, are a part of something bigger.”