Students, parents, teachers and school officials of Fayetteville’s New School gathered Wednesday afternoon for the topping off ceremony to celebrate the placement of the final wooden beam on top of the school’s innovation center.
The Hunt and Simmons families were honored for their pledges to the project
The topping off ceremony offered attendees a sneak peek inside the expansion project, led by Nabholz Construction, which includes a three-story 35,000 sq. ft. academic building, two-story 9,000 sq. ft. innovation center, and 18,000 sq. ft. gym.
The innovation center is phase one of a multi-phase project to grow the school’s age range – to offer education for students through 12th grade. It includes a multi-story academic center that will house middle school and high school students, an innovation lab that will be the hub for the school’s STEAM efforts, and a full court gym that will be used to expand the athletic program. The building will feature a cyber cafe, student commons area, a wood shop, robotics studio and two tinkering studios.
Mandy Hunt with son, Jacob, who will be in the school’s first graduating class in 2020
The innovation center will be completed in time for the 2017-2018 school year. The class of 2020 will be the school’s first ever graduating class.
The New School was founded in 1971 by Bill Mandrell and a group of local families who desired a quality early childhood education program. The school started as a nonprofit organization with 24 students, ages three to six. Today, the school has more than 400 students.
Learn more about The New School here.
See more pictures from the ceremony here.
The New School’s expansion phases