School kids will experience new environment at Clarke Middle School

Sixty-six years ago, students filed into a brand new middle school off Baxter Street, but now decades later those classrooms no longer exists.

During the summer, the 1958 building was demolished.

But this school year, the doors will swing open to a spanking new Clarke Middle School. The school district will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the occasion on July 30, just two days before students will fill the halls for the first day of school.

The building, almost 220,000 square feet, was paid for primarily through funds generated through two SPLOST votes, according to the Clarke County School District.

The school was designed by Lindsay Pope Brayfield Architects of Lawrenceville, while the construction contractor was Grahl Construction of Athens.

The total school building project is not completely ready.

The school district provided information showing that in Phase One the sections that are compete include the main three-story instructional area, along with the main entrance, the cafeteria, media center and the office space for staff.

Phase two, scheduled for completion in January 2025, includes the administration area, a professional learning space, new gymnasium and space for the Clarke Middle Health Center, a school-based health center open to student, families and staff.

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During construction, the health center has been housed in a modular unit between Clarke Middle School and Holston Elementary School.

The new school is nearly three times the size of the original building and about double the size of the building when additions were constructed in 2004, according to the district.

“This additional space will accommodate projected enrollment growth, larger classrooms, all LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC, and open halls and student areas,” the district noted.

Also, the property includes a new soccer field, a concession stand, outdoor classrooms, amphitheater and a new agriculture science area with a greenhouse, barn, goat pen and garden space.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: School kids will experience new environment at Clarke Middle School