Guilford County School leaders have officially broken ground for the new Kiser Middle School. This has begun the groundbreaking on new schools in Greensboro and is the first of six schools that the district is looking to rebuild by early 2024. District officials also held several other groundbreaking ceremonies, including at Claxton and Brooks Elementary Schools, with several more already planned.
School plans
Greensboro is working to rebuild six new schools by 2024, with planned site work for each project happening this fall. These schools involve Kiser Middle School, Claxton Elementary School, Brooks Elementary School, Foust Elementary, Peck K-8 School, and the yet-to-be-named Visual and Performing Arts Elementary located on the campus of the former Peeler Elementary.
On Aug. 22, 2022, district officials held the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Kiser as well as the new Claxton and Brooks elementary schools. Following that up on Aug. 23, ceremonies were held for the new Foust Elementary, Peck K-8, and the new-unnamed visual and performing arts elementary.
Senior project manager at Metcon, Tabi Makia, said that two weeks prior, workers started on a temporary road that will allow people to access the old Brooks Global Studies Elementary. This road was a high priority for them due to the fact that a parking lot planned for the new Kiser will interfere with Brooks’ existing entrance. Brooks Elementary is being rebuilt on a site near the Greensboro Arboretum, but in the meantime, the old Brooks adjacent to Kiser will continue to house the elementary school’s students.
Major milestones
Groundbreaking ceremonies for these schools represent a major milestone within a much longer and broader project. In 2017, school and county leaders created a joint committee to take a comprehensive look at the district’s facility needs. These committees brought in consultants to help them rank and prioritize the district’s buildings and to create their nearly $2.7 billion plan.
This plan addressed issues such as overcrowding and underused schools as well as deficient facilities. In 2020 and 2022, through separate referendums, voters in Guilford County gave the go-ahead for the county commissioners to borrow money for the project. This was done by issuing up to $2 billion in bonds.
These six projects are the district’s top priority, but there are more projects to follow.
The Kiser groundbreaking
Representatives of the Kiser Middle School Alumni Association were able to be on site during the new Kiser Middle School’s groundbreaking ceremony. Also during the groundbreaking, the Greensboro News and Record interviewed middle school teacher Julia Moore-Evans. The Kiser teacher stated that she is excited for the new potential consistency these projects will bring, including even temperatures across the building and up-to-date equipment in all classrooms.
This ceremony also featured remarks from local officials, including Superintendent Sharon Contreras. Contreras told those in attendance at the ceremony that, “when I was younger, my brothers and sisters and I — there are ten of us — we would sing in children’s church: ‘… joy, joy, joy down in my heart,’ and that’s how I feel today, just so much joy to be here this morning.”
Summary
The future of Guilford County Schools is beginning to look up with the groundbreaking on new schools in Greensboro. These projects are sure to bring a bright future to the students in the area as well as Greensboro as a whole.
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