New Franklin County HS Core Building Ready for Students
New Healthcare Sciences classroom
Franklin County High School students will be starting the new academic year in a new, state-of-the-art core building.
On Sunday, the high school held an open house for students, parents, and the public to tour the new academic facility that is designed to help move the high school and student learning into the 21st century.
The new core building includes new science labs and larger classrooms overall. Each new classroom is 750 square feet to enable a more diverse teaching and learning environment.
“Teachers are very excited,” said Franklin County High School Principal Brad Roberts. “Even those teachers who are not in the new building are happy. They’re getting new, upgraded technology and painting and so forth. So, everyone is very excited about the new school year.”
Roberts said when students show up for class Wednesday, under and upper classmen will find themselves on a level playing field.
Computer Lab
“The incoming freshman for one time will be on the same page as the upper classmen because no one really knows where the classrooms are,” Roberts said. “It will take a little time for everyone to understand the new floorplan and get to know where their classes are and to get a good a map of the school.”
Also touring the new core building Sunday was School Superintendent Dr. Ruth O’Dell. Dr. O’Dell says now students will be able to learn in a way that better prepares them for future success.
“I said in my convocation talk that this is going to be a lighthouse on the hill, a beacon for us going forward,” she said Sunday. “We finally have classrooms that are big enough for big bodies to be able to then get together in groups. Working together we hear consistently from industry is such an important thing that kids need to learn to be ready.”
Dr. O’Dell (center) chats with visitors in the new cafeteria
O’Dell credits a team effort between staff and teachers for making the new core building a truly state-of-the-art facility.
“I’m just bursting with pride for everything that’s gone in to building this,” O’Dell said. “I’m especially grateful to Wayne Randall who headed this up with Justin Old and they did a great job. I’m especially proud that our teachers had a lot of say at how the building is laid out and how the rooms are laid out. They just did a fantastic job.”
Total cost of the new high school new core building was over $3-million and was paid for using e-SPLOST funds.
Today and tomorrow, students and parents of elementary and middle school students can attend open houses at their student’s respective schools.
PAWS for Parents takes place today from 10a to 6p for high school students and from 3p – 7p for all elementary school students.
At the middle school, the 7th and 8th grade open house takes place this evening from 4p-7p and on Tuesday, 6th grade students and parents attend open house from 2p-3:30p or from 4p-7p.