Some Putnam County students begin school year in brand new building

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Students attending Park View Elementary in Putnam County will start the new school year on a brand new campus.

The original location was built in 1952 and could no longer sustain the community’s growth. The county’s population increased by over 1,300 people between 2022 and 2023.

“It was just getting to where the capacity that it had wasn’t fulfilling the needs of the capacity of our district and of our school zone,” said principal Dr. Mel Presley. “We are blessed with this amazing new school that has the capacity for 600 students.”

The new location on Lee Seminary Road cost $45 million to build. The idea is that in five years, they’re going to add a middle school side to this campus and it will be the home for 1,200 K-8 students in Putnam County.

“I think it’s gonna be overwhelming for them (students). Because a building built in 1952 has smaller hallways, smaller ceilings, it’s not very lit in the hallways,” said Dr. Presley. “This, you can see this big structure right here. That is our grand commons hallway that will connect the elementary school and the middle school. And this hallway, the ceilings are huge.”

Dr. Presley explained that one safety upgrade is a secure lobby vestibule, which they did not have at the old school. There are also limited points of entry into the building. She said the bigger hallways also make for better spaces to shelter from severe weather and more room for learning.

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“With our beautiful new setting, we’ve got great areas for small groups and for tutoring, which we didn’t have in the old school. We were tutoring kids in the hallway. And, yes, now we have nice quiet spaces where we can tutor small groups of students in the school,” she said. “It’s just unbelievable, you know, what we’ve been blessed with.”

She said technology was also prioritized for the new school. Every single classroom is being outfitted with the latest active board technology. They hope all these changes will maximize student learning.

“I think that when it shows that your school system and your principal and your teachers have pride in your school, to have high quality learning environments, that it shows students that’s important, and that learning is important,” said Dr. Presley. “That builds confidence in them and gives them motivation, to strive to be the best.”

Students can also expect a new mascot that pays homage to the original school as they go from being the Pandas back to being called the Rockets.

The old Park View School will be renovated to become a Pre-K school for Putnam County.

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