New Cedar Ridge toured by educators

Published 11:55 pm Friday, March 13, 2009

Cedar Ridge Elementary School’s tailor-made structure is provoking some good-natured envy among principals.

“Do we all get to come here to be principal for at least a day?” joked Westside Elementary principal Tracy Mardis.

A group of principals, school personnel and administrators toured Cedar Ridge earlier this week as part of occasional meetings among Whitfield County School leaders. It was the first time most of them had been inside the building, which construction managers said should be finished in June.

Antioch Elementary principal Lisa Jones said the design is exactly what the planners, including several teachers and administrators, wanted in a new school.

“Everybody was represented,” Jones said. “I think you’re going to see the payoff once these teachers get here and once the children get here.”

It features four wings with classrooms that open into a square common rather than a long hallway. The areas will double as both a “hallway” and a gathering place for large groups. There are also an abundance of windows, a multi-purpose area near the cafeteria, several small restrooms with one toilet each rather than large restrooms with several stalls, outdoor areas for study and other amenities.

Superintendent Katie Brochu said many areas in the new school will have “mop and go” floors that don’t require waxing. She refers to the school’s wings as “houses” and said the design is intended to foster a sense of family in what is otherwise a very large school.

There will be wireless Internet access throughout the building.

The 100,000-square-foot school is near Highway 286. Students from Antioch, Dawnville and Eastside elementary schools will attend Cedar Ridge. The school is designed for about 600 students and costs about $20 million.

Planners said the building is designed to last for 100 years with regular maintenance.

“I like how everything feeds to the middle (of the building) even though it’s so big,” said Allyson Millican, who will become Cedar Ridge’s principal when it opens. “Every inch of this building makes sense.”