RICHMOND, Va. -- Saturday marked a major milestone for many on Richmond’s Southside as officials broke ground for the new George Wythe High School that will be known as Richmond High School For the Arts.
Dozens of alumni, teachers and staff and community leaders came out to celebrate the groundbreaking, which took place on the city's athletic fields where the new school will be built.
“This is monumental for us," Sherri Robinson, an administrative assistant for the school's principal, said "The groundbreaking is making me feel it's heartfelt that their dreams are about to come true.”
Officials said while the name may change, the school's colors and “Bulldog” mascot will remain.
The celebration marks a dream many have had for decades. In fact, nearly every speaker shared the same sentiment that it had been a long time coming to get to this moment.
Tisha Erby, an alumna, parent and leader of the Wythe Can’t Wait group, has spent the last few years pushing for a new faciloty because of the school's deteriorating conditions. She described how the building has had cracks and mold for years.
“At the end of the day these students are still here thriving, but they shouldn’t have to be when it’s not a happy building. This building has been crying for years,” Erby said.
Mayor Levar Stoney initially announced the plan for the rebuild of the school back in October 2020.
While the mayor, council, and school board all agreed the aging school needed to be replaced, they were at odds over its size for some time. City council did not release funding to the school board for the rebuild until April of 2022.
Superintendent Jason Kamras and other school and city leaders who attended the groundbreaking acknowledged why they continued to fight so hard for that funding.
“A sign that kids have on whether an adult loves them is what their building looks like and for far too long this building has not been given off vibes of love,” Kamras shared.
Kevin Olds, George Wythe's principal, said how a house is a home and how they have to make that home somewhere kids want to come to learn. He shared just how happy he was that this change starts today for these kids.
“Today is the first day of the rest of our kids lives,” he said.
Officials said construction is expected to take two to three years and that the curriculum will be curated for the specialty programs for the arts.
However, all involved said the school will continue to be resilient until these changes come to fruition.
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