Groundbreaking on New Richmond Hill Middle School

Bryan County continues to grow.  The population is up to 30,000 now.  With the growth comes the need for new homes and new, bigger schools.

Today school district leaders and other elected officials, including Congressman Jack Kingston, broke ground on the $20 million plus new Richmond Hill middle school.

News 3 education reporter, Randi Hempel, was there and spoke with the middle school’s principal about the need for a new building.

“Every teacher got to see it first hand or met back with their groups to share with them, cause we toured other schools so we kind of pinched what was good here and what didn’t work there to make ours better than,“ says Helen Herndon,

Richmond Hill Middle School principal, Helen Herndon, walks me through the current school, which was built in the 1970s.  The replacement school will be everything this 30+ year old building is not.

“If you stand here, like from the main office, as you can see, you see down to the band room and about 10 of the classrooms.  What you don’t see is a whole 8th grade, the entire 7th grade, none of the gym, none of the cafeteria and that’s going to be the biggest difference when you stand with that pinwheel design and you can see everything,” explains Herndon.

“And that’s a big deal, especially with safety?” I ask.

“Safety is the biggest thing and we have lots of security doors within the building so even if you come in the main office, you can’t go anywhere but right there,“ continues Herndon.

The new school will have 93 classrooms, replacing 57 here.  The one old technology lab at the old school turns into three at the new school equipped with projectors and an instant response system allowing teachers to give them instant feedback to the students.

“I think the new features as far as technology goes will keep them definitely engrossed in the lesson.  I think the layout of the school is going to be very conducive to changing classes,” says Diane Croy, technology specialist at Richmond Hill Middle School.

“So, the 2 years can’t come fast enough?” I ask.

“They cannot come, where’s the bulldozer? Where’s the shovel, I can lay bricks, let’s get going with it,” laughs Herndon.

School officials say the new school is a great reward for those who move to Bryan County for the school system.  They hope the school will be ready for a 2011 fall opening.