CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Chesterfield leaders broke ground Wednesday at the site of what will be the county's newest middle school.
"The three-story school is being built in the Matoaca District on 105 acres next to Westerleigh Parkway," a Chesterfield spokesperson wrote about the county's 13th middle school.
The yet-to-be-named school will accommodate up to 1,800 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.
The grade levels will be on separate floors.
The design, county leaders say, is much bigger than a typical middle school but is also an efficient use of land and resources.
"From a security standpoint, it's easier to lock up these buildings and make sure that they're safe for people. I think that's a big aspect of this too," Board of Supervisors member Christopher Winslow said at a groundbreaking ceremony not far from Hull Street and Otterdale Road.
"That was actually one of my first thoughts," mother Arielle Cummins said of the floor plan. "Unfortunately, designing for active shooter situations is a huge part of designing schools now. Which is terrible. It's awful to have to think that way but I can't say it didn't cross my mind."
The school is scheduled to open in August 2025. The cost, roughly $95 million, will mostly be funded by Virginia Public School Authority bonds.
"As a former teacher, I understand the energy and the excitement that a new school brings to the community," Ryan Harter, Chesterfield County School Board member representing the Matoaca District, said.
"Each 'grade house' contains 19 regular classrooms and five science labs, as well as dispersed conference rooms, teacher workrooms and offices," a county spokesperson continued. "In addition to the grade houses, an exploratory wing offers electives in such courses as art, world language, technology/fabrication, business and family, and consumer science."
The School Board will redistrict its middle schools once construction is complete.
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