Leaders Get Sneak Peek at New Teasley Middle School

Staff Report

Cherokee County School Board members and local business, government and community leaders recently toured the new/replacement Teasley Middle School, getting a glimpse of the state-of-the-art facility that will serve more than 1,350 students when the school year begins on Monday, August 4.

The new facility, with a capacity of 1,525 students, allows for the standard middle school configuration of Grades 6-8 on one campus, which provides sixth-graders with greater opportunity for academic rigor, fine arts and career electives and athletic and extra-curricular activities. The building is 239,750 square feet and sits on a 47-acre campus.

Projected enrollment when classes begin on Aug. 4 is 1,356 students: 459 sixth-graders, 461 seventh-graders and 486 eighth-graders. Teasley MS draws students from Canton STEM Academy, Clayton, Hasty Fine Arts Academy, Knox and R.M. Moore Elementary Schools.

The tour on July 22 began in the media center, where Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo introduced guests and welcomed them to the school, along with welcoming remarks from School Board Chair Janet Read. Dr. Petruzielo gave an overview of the facility and noted several of the economic efficiencies featured in the building, such as polished concrete floors that will save on maintenance and cleaning costs, paying for itself in a year’s time.

“Children who will enter the doors of this school in August will experience the future of education… a campus that is equipped with digital-learning technology and staffed with teachers who know how to effectively use it, but also a facility with an even greater focus on the safety and health of students, environmental impact and energy and economic efficiency,” Dr. Petruzielo said. “The new Teasley Middle School joins the long list of schools that we’ve built with the community’s support of our Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (Ed SPLOST), and our community’s children – today and for generations – will reap the benefits of a quality education as a result.”

The tour included stops in a classroom, science lab, computer lab, band room, gymnasium and cafeteria. The group also visited the technology Connections classroom, where teacher Scott Reece demonstrated an interactive smart board and discussed 3D-printer technology, which offers students the opportunity for creativity and to master career skills. The group also viewed the on-site Cherokee County School District Data Recovery Center, which provides a backup network system location in the case of a major disaster or power outage. By hosting this needed service in-house, CCSD avoids the increased costs of outsourcing it to a vendor.

Teasley Middle School has 94 instructional units, including classrooms that all feature smart boards, computers and additional technology; 14 science lab classrooms; computer labs; art and music rooms; gymnasium; cafetorium; and a media center, with CCSD’s new prototypical digital learning-friendly design.

The school was constructed with maintenance and utility efficiency in mind, with metal roofing, brick/block masonry and structural steel frame; four-pipe chilled water and hot water system, which also increases equipment life expectancy; variable speed pumping system; mechanical mezzanine above the second floor for servicing of equipment without disrupting classroom activities or hallway traffic; energy management/control system; complete card access system; low-maintenance polished concrete floors; and separate car and bus entrances.

The architect for the school is Manley, Spangler and Smith Architects of Griffin. The building is a CCSD prototypical design, also used for the new/replacement E.T. Booth MS, which opened last year. Choate Construction, which has constructed schools and other educational facilities statewide including on campuses of the University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University, was awarded the $31.6 Million contract by the School Board. Other costs, such as furniture, fixtures, equipment, supplies and technology, bring the total cost to $37 Million; the land north of Riverstone Plaza shopping center was purchased for $2.9 million.

The majority of the construction was funded through the voter-approved Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (Ed-SPLOST) in 2011, with about a third of the cost funded through State money.

The former Teasley MS campus on Knox Bridge Highway will open for the 2014-15 School Year as the new home of ACE Academy (previously CrossRoads), CCSD’s daytime alternative middle school and high school program.

This relocation allows ACE Academy to increase its enrollment and eliminate a waiting list, which was needed… as its former facility did not offer enough classroom and parking space to accommodate all of the students who wanted to transfer to this “move on when ready” program. The relocation of ACE Academy is the first phase of a multi-year plan to transform the campus into the Cherokee College and Career Academy (CCCA), which also will host Polaris Evening Program night high school classes and C3 Academy online classes and career electives, with a focus on courses that offer students certification opportunities.

The former ACE Academy campus on Holly Springs Parkway will be renovated over the next year to become the new home for Tippens Education Center, which serves students in Grades K-12 with emotional and behavioral challenges.

UPCOMING EVENTS