Bartow County School System recently relocated Adairsville Elementary (60,000 square feet) to a 114,000-square-foot building to accommodate rising enrollment.
The new facility stands two blocks away in the plot of the old Adairsville Middle/High School that the system demolished years ago.
CHALLENGE: The district initially planned to salvage the old school’s athletic track for community use, but workers had to remove it during construction of the new building.
“We were taking away something that the community had been enjoying” says Chief Leadership and Learning Officer Kimberly Fraker.
Teachers and faculty also had to settle into a larger school.
“We were used to being so close to each other in the older building” says Fraker. “Now, you have to fight from feeling isolated in certain parts of the school.”
SOLUTION: To keep the hometown feel of the first facility, teachers placed a display case containing the original school’s wooden sign and old yearbooks—some dating back to 1954—at the building’s center.
“I’ve seen administrators, teachers, students and parents going through these yearbooks” says Fraker.
Outside, a 200-meter-long oval asphalt walking area replaces the original track. “This has made our new property not just a school, but a hub for the community” says Fraker.
COST: $21.5 million
COMPLETION DATE: July 2018
PROJECT TEAM: General contractor: Womack, Lewis & Smith (Cartersville, Ga.); architect: Deloach Architects (Macon, Ga.)
