George Washington Carver Opens Its New Doors to Visitors and 11 Month Students

On Friday George Washington Carver’s fresh corridors were packed with parents and children taking tours of the new school building.

“It’s a tremendous turn-out,” Principal Annette Wood told The Bay Net. It will be her first year as principal at G.W. Carver, so she is new to the school and the building.

Elissa takes a peep at the new cafeteria

The new building is divided into grade-level houses with three classrooms in each and two support rooms. Parents seemed enthusiastic about the presence of a printer in each house, so the students will be able to collect their printed work in the central area of that house “wing” rather than heading to the library as they had previously.

There will also be a minimum of four computers in each classroom, in addition to a computer lab, enthused Debra Mitchell, a 5th Grade teacher who was leading some of the tours Friday. “We’re really trying to push the computer and keyboard skills, because when they take their MSA it will be on the computer,” explained Ms. Mitchell. “We just did a trail this year and it was really kind of fun for the kids!”

Each of the new classrooms has an abundance of windows to enable easy monitoring. Some teachers were working away in their new rooms during the tours, welcoming new students, and greeting familiar ones. One 5th Grade classroom already had a sign above the door – “Ideas Are Welcome Here.”

The new facility is a vast improvement on the old school building which the student and faculty body had begun to outgrow. It includes an art room with a large storage area, where there used to be a trailer for art activities and no space left for storage. “In the trailers we didn’t have a science lab or even storage, so we’re really excited to get our stuff out of storage,” said Ms. Mitchell as she led one group into a new lab strewn with boxes and equipment ready to be set up.

Andy Crusan, 4, turns to show his parents what he’s found in the new classroom

In the kindergarten classroom Andy Crusan, who is “nearly going to turn 5,” went straight for the shelf of toys that was already set up, clearly delighted.

Among the other improvements was a kitchenette for cooking activities, a health room, which the nurse is said to be excited about, a school store, and a gymnasium and cafeteria. The students will still eat their breakfasts in their classrooms, to give them a chance to “eat as a community,” said Ms. Lori Swick, guidance counselor at the school, and another tour leader.

There is also designated room for a Judy Center. The Judy Center is like Headstart for pre-Kindergarteners. Carver is already slated to become the second school in the county to have such a program (one already exists at Green Holly Elementary) but it is not yet certain if it will begin in the fall.