Every Hamilton County School will be ready to open the doors to the 2017-18 school year on Thursday after Hamilton County Department of Education workers spent the summer months painting, re-mulching playgrounds, and replacing flooring district-wide.
Eight Hamilton County Schools are now equipped with the first Volkswagen eLabs in the nation. The winning schools were chosen during the last week of April, and crews have been working all summer to ready the eLabs for the start of the new school year.
HCDE Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson will visit one of the labs on the first day of classes. “It’s such an exciting time to attend Hamilton County Schools," said Dr. Johnson. "Volkswagen eLabs will provide students with the latest technologies that will empower them to engage in authentic problem solving."
HCDE oversaw major construction projects at Sale Creek Middle High and Wolftever Creek Elementary, which are now complete. Both schools now have brand new, state-of-the-art additions that will allow the schools’ growing populations access the tools they need for a world-class education.
HCDE Auxiliary Services Director, Justin Witt, said both projects will vastly improve efficiency at both schools. “The expansion of Sale Creek Middle High included a new cafeteria with a much larger cooking space and two serving lines," said Mr. Witt. "The expansion at Wolftever Creek gave the school a badly needed multi-purpose room. In the past school officials have pulled a large curtain to separate the learning space from the kids eating lunch in the cafeteria.”
Two schools also had new chillers installed in their HVAC systems this summer. Now Battle Academy and Brown Middle students should have an easier time staying cool this August while the schools experience greatly reduced overall electricity costs.
HCDE is moving ahead with several roofing projects across the district. HCDE oversaw a roofing project that just finished up at Orchard Knob Middle School, and will soon begin replacing the roof at Spring Creek Elementary. Workers also completed a total library renovation at Dupont Elementary.
Phones were upgraded to improve communications and safety. Every classroom will have a telephone and paging system in the event of emergencies.
Crews also spent the summer renovating a wing at Central High School after a fire in an old home economics classroom caused damage to nearby science labs. Those rooms will be ready to reopen Thursday morning when Central welcomes back its students.