A project to revitalize the courtyard at McKeesport High School promises to transform the under-used area into a space for outdoor learning and relaxation.

Funded by the McKeesport High School Alumni and Friends Association, the project is being carried out by teachers and students from the school's vocational department.

When it is finished in the next one to two years, the grassy rectangular yard surrounded by the high school will feature an elevated seating area which will be suitable for classes, a display fountain, wooden benches, new sidewalks, dogwood trees and a new access point from the library.

The cost of material is expected to be $40,000 to $50,000, according to vocational education director and project overseer Julia Stewart. She said other costs would be negligible because teachers, students and staff maintenance workers are providing the labor on school time. "Hopefully, there will be no cost to the district."

Dr. Stewart said instructors Michael Spagnola and Mike Locke, of the commercial art and building construction programs, respectfully, drew plans for the courtyard based on student suggestions after the alumni group said it would commit to funding such a project if the high school handled it in-house.

Association President Linda Croushore said members had raised about $32,000 for the project and were continuing their efforts by selling inscribed commemorative bricks for $100. The bricks will be prominently featured in the courtyard. The association has sold about 90 bricks to alumni, she said.

"The high school is truly a state-of-the-art facility except for this inner courtyard," said Dr. Croushore, who is also director of the Mon Valley Educational Consortium.

Dr. Croushore said the alumni association, which was formed in 1986 and has about 2,000 members, had spent several years and thousands of dollars trying to make the courtyard a more integral part of the school's overall education program. A few years ago, the alumni association donated $10,000 for the removal of nuisance trees and broken concrete. Volunteers from Comcast have also volunteered time and resources to improve parts of the courtyard, but the current initiative is the most significant improvement effort to date.

The courtyard was built as part of the original high school 45 years ago. A section of the yard recently was apportioned to house a preschool play area used by the vocational department's child-care program. Otherwise, the mostly vacant lot has been used as a shortcut for students going from one part of the school to another.

About 700 students are enrolled in vocational programs at the high school, which has a total enrollment of about 1,450 students. Dr. Stewart expects approximately 100 vocational students to participate in the completion of the courtyard, most of them coming from the construction, commercial art and biotechnology programs.

Dr. Stewart said concrete removal work at the site was under way, but that the project has to be approved by the school board before it can be finished. She presented the project to the board at its regular meeting two weeks ago.

School board Vice President Barbara Stevenson said she expected the board to approve the project.

"It should be no problem," she said. "I think it's going to make the courtyard look very pretty."