Schools
New Crooked Billet Elementary School Breaks Ground
Hatboro-Horsham School District community members celebrate start of construction at new school.
Crooked Billet Elementary School community members were all smiles as they plunged shovels into the earth to officially kick-off construction on a new school building Monday.
About 70 people were in attendance for the Oct. 1 groundbreaking ceremony, which featured remarks from school officials and local leaders. Hatboro-Horsham School District Superintendent Curtis Griffin served as master of ceremonies for the event and thanked the various stakeholder groups involved in bringing about the creation of a "high quality learning elementary school" within the District.
Hatboro-Horsham School District’s oldest elementary school stood on a portion of the site where the historic Battle of Crooked Billet was fought during the Revolutionary War. Since September, students who were attending Crooked Billet will be attending the newly created Crooked Billet-Hallowell Learning Community until their school is completed in 2020. The new Crooked Billet, located at 101 Meadowbrook Ave., Hatboro, will feature more classroom space, updated resources and technology and upgraded infrastructure on an 110,000-square-foot campus. Philadelphia-based Schrader Group Architecture designed the building.
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During the ceremony Monday, three third grade students talked about their memories of the old Crooked Billet and their hopes for the new school. Among the hopes included a zip line on the playground. The current third grade class will be in fifth grade when the new building opens.
Crooked Billet Principal Kelli Sendel said the event was a day many had been looking forward to for quite some time.
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"While the physical structure of Crooked Billet will be changed to give our students access to educational resources and opportunities that will equip them to be competitive in the future," she said, "what will not be altered is the heart of our community."
Students, faculty, staff, administrators and outside organizations involved with the project each took turns ceremonially shoveling dirt from the site.
