RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. — Construction can now begin on a new school in Jackson County.
Officials broke ground on the site of a new Ravenswood Middle School Wednesday morning.
The project is expected to cost around $13.3 million. The new school will be attached to the current Ravenswood High School.
“This is an exciting time for our kids, especially our sixth graders who will be moving into the building as eighth graders,” Ravenswood Middle School Principal Jeff Haskins told MetroNews affiliate WMOV Radio.
Haskins said he hopes current students demonstrate leadership to new students entering the school when it opens in August 2019.
“I want those seventh and eighth graders, who are eventually going to be our freshmen and sophomores when we move in, to take that role of being leaders and helping these middle schoolers as we transition. We’re going to have to do a lot of things together between the two schools. They’re going to have a big role in that,” he said.
Both schools tie the community together, Haskins said.
“The town takes a lot of pride in what happens at both the middle and the high school. Whenever you have something new and shiny, it always lifts everybody’s spirits and gets everybody in a better mood,” he said.
Jackson County School Superintendent Blaine Hess the project has been years in the making. The plan was first proposed in 2006.
“I just think it’s a win-win for the students, for the community. It also, for Jackson County Schools, shows an investment in the City of Ravenswood for decades to come that there will be a school here and I think that’s very important too,” Hess said.