Board of education members toured the new Ninth Grade Academy building recently. Pictured are (l-r) board members Denise Burrell, Beth Camp, Fred Blackmon, Ninth Grade Academy principal Cheryl Watts and board chairman Ryan Edge.
New Ninth Grade Academy to open in August
Members of the board of education took a tour of the new Zebulon High School and Ninth Grade Academy prior to their regular board meeting Tuesday, May 13. The facility was just weeks from final completion and superintendent Dr. Michael Duncan gave them a full tour of the classrooms, computer lab, lounge, cafeteria, collaboration rooms, ISS area, teacher work room, storage areas, new restrooms and more. Cheryl Watts, the school’s new principal was present during the tour and answered questions about the new school.
The building’s color scheme will be red, black and gray throughout the building. Furniture will be delivered by July 9 and the building will be completely ready for parents and students at the Open House in August.
The newly renovated building was built in the 1960s and originally used as an elementary school but upgrades have made the building a state-of-the-art 21st Century school for students in the Ninth Grade Academy and the Zebulon High School, a non-traditional school which offers online curriculum with small group and individual instruction to students.
The Zebulon High School - which will be in its second year in August - will occupy a self-contained portion of the new Ninth Grade Academy. Whether the goal is to accelerate or remediate, all ZHS students must dual enroll with a post-secondary institution such as Gordon College or Southern Crescent Technical College.
The school has automatic lights throughout which are activated when students or teachers enter the rooms and will help save on electrical costs. The school will have black lockers along the walls but they have not yet been installed.
Other spaces in the building include English classrooms which feature built in shelving for classroom libraries. The student lounge will double as a small group instruction area. It will include a snack machine, drink machine, possibly a refrigerator and microwave and soft seating. The school’s computer lab has enough space for 50 kids with Wifi available for students to use their own devices when needed.
The large cafeteria will have noise-dampening panels to keep students from disturbing others and an adjacent teacher workroom behind a glass wall so teachers can observe students during their lunch break while still getting work done.
A large collaboration room will have seating for 50 students in case several classrooms are being combined for a speaker or program. It also gives students who are working on a project the space they may need. In addition, several smaller collaboration rooms will be available for small group projects.
“We needed to have a big space where the kids can come and collaborate and enough space so they can spread out and work on various projects,” said superintendent Dr. Michael Duncan. “If we go through an unbelievable growth period, it will be easy to convert some of the larger spaces back into classrooms, so this design offers us a lot of flexibility.”
The In School Suspension and Response to Intervention room will provide a space for students in ISS as well as students who need remedial help.
“This will give teachers and administrators space so that students in need of remedial assistance can be rotated every single period of the day to make sure they are on track for graduation,” said Dr. Duncan.
A large storage room for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) materials will be lined with industrial shelving to allow teachers easy access to items needed throughout the school year. The room could also be turned into an additional classroom in the future if needed.
Science classrooms have all the additional plumbing and electrical requirements for a fully operational lab.
The newly renovated building was built in the 1960s and originally used as an elementary school but upgrades have made the building a state-of-the-art 21st Century school for students in the Ninth Grade Academy and the Zebulon High School, a non-traditional school which offers online curriculum with small group and individual instruction to students.
The Zebulon High School - which will be in its second year in August - will occupy a self-contained portion of the new Ninth Grade Academy. Whether the goal is to accelerate or remediate, all ZHS students must dual enroll with a post-secondary institution such as Gordon College or Southern Crescent Technical College.
The school has automatic lights throughout which are activated when students or teachers enter the rooms and will help save on electrical costs. The school will have black lockers along the walls but they have not yet been installed.
Other spaces in the building include English classrooms which feature built in shelving for classroom libraries. The student lounge will double as a small group instruction area. It will include a snack machine, drink machine, possibly a refrigerator and microwave and soft seating. The school’s computer lab has enough space for 50 kids with Wifi available for students to use their own devices when needed.
The large cafeteria will have noise-dampening panels to keep students from disturbing others and an adjacent teacher workroom behind a glass wall so teachers can observe students during their lunch break while still getting work done.
A large collaboration room will have seating for 50 students in case several classrooms are being combined for a speaker or program. It also gives students who are working on a project the space they may need. In addition, several smaller collaboration rooms will be available for small group projects.
“We needed to have a big space where the kids can come and collaborate and enough space so they can spread out and work on various projects,” said superintendent Dr. Michael Duncan. “If we go through an unbelievable growth period, it will be easy to convert some of the larger spaces back into classrooms, so this design offers us a lot of flexibility.”
The In School Suspension and Response to Intervention room will provide a space for students in ISS as well as students who need remedial help.
“This will give teachers and administrators space so that students in need of remedial assistance can be rotated every single period of the day to make sure they are on track for graduation,” said Dr. Duncan.
A large storage room for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) materials will be lined with industrial shelving to allow teachers easy access to items needed throughout the school year. The room could also be turned into an additional classroom in the future if needed.
Science classrooms have all the additional plumbing and electrical requirements for a fully operational lab.
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