CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Dozens of parents and students waited anxiously to see the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Enon Elementary School Tuesday morning.
Chesterfield school leaders say the school was completed in just 16 months, from start to finish, and they’re now calling it record-breaking.
“After five renovations and renditions, the time has come to move into a new facility more conducive to 21st-century public education,” said one school leader.
The new 90,000 square foot elementary school will soon be home to 750 students.
“I’m so excited! It’s been a long time coming. Just walking into the building, you can feel that you’re at home,” said one parent.
The new Enon Elementary replaced the original school that was built in 1928. That aging and crumbling school was torn down in the summer of 2017.
The replacement of Enon elementary was approved by voters in 2013. It’s part of a larger $304 million initiative to replace several aging school buildings in Chesterfield County.
“What an exciting and joyous occasion this is to us. Especially this time, right around the holidays. This is like a gift for us,” said a mother of two Enon students.
“She’s going to be one of the first to graduate from the school, so that’s going to be very exciting. That’s definitely going to be a memory that we can share is together for a long time,” she added.
The doors at the new Enon Elementary will officially open to students the first week of January after Christmas break.
Six more elementary schools are now in the pipeline to be rebuilt as a part of the $304 million initiative.
