HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –Students at a Cabell County school will soon experience a greater sense of collaboration and accessibility when they step into their new building in two weeks.
Meadows Elementary School Principal Amy Maynard, along with school Superintendent Tim Hardesty and officials from Neighborgall Construction, gave the media a preview of the new school Thursday morning.
The new school is located at 1 Wildcat Way, approximately two miles from the previous location in Huntington. All of the facilities including classrooms, lockers, the cafeteria, the gymnasium, kitchen, multiple bathrooms for students and staff, are located all on the same floor to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
Maynard said one of the features that makes the school so collaborative is the new creative center and library located near all of the classrooms.
She said this promotes collaboration and creativity, as students can go there to work on projects, collaborate with other classes, or simply pick up a book and read.
“Having that creative space and library space that we didn’t have before will provide opportunities for them to want to reach out, increase reading, because they can go in and select a book,” Maynard said. “Because when you get to pick your own book, you kind of become invested in that and take it back and get another.”
The center is equipped with flexible seating, a TV, and large windows that allow natural light to fill the space.
The old school, built in 1938, didn’t allow for much flexibility, Hardesty said. However, the new building addresses that issue.
“There are so many different areas, not only just in the hallway but even some of the furniture in the classroom, it’s flexible enough it can be used depending on the needs of the teacher at the time and the needs of the kids in the classroom,” Hardesty said.
Each classroom includes bookshelves, cabinets, an Apple TV, a dry-erase board, and desks for the students. Maynard said that teachers will begin unpacking their belongings and setting up their classrooms Friday.
She noted that while every classroom received the same furniture, the Pre-K and kindergarten rooms look a bit different to accommodate the unique needs of younger students. Those classrooms include a bathroom and access to a sink, where other classes require students to use facilities in the hallway.
The initial process started in 2020; however, design and preparation for the building began in 2021 with ZMM Architects and Engineers. Construction commenced in 2022.
Maynard noted that they wanted the school to incorporate a piece of Huntington. She said that since trains played a significant part in Huntington history, they wanted to incorporate that theme into the design. The construction team handcrafted large gears to symbolize a train and installed them on the ceiling above the creative/library center. Additionally, there are reading nooks designed to resemble the entrance to a train tunnel. They even included a blue paint strip in the cafeteria to represent the Ohio River.
Another thing she wanted was to ensure that the building, inside and out, didn’t overtake the surrounding area. They chose a muted color palate consisting of a light blue, mint green, baby yellow and more. These colors can be seen throughout the school, displayed by an accent wall in every room.
Maynard said that teachers, administrators, staff, and even the students had a say in the school’s design and the features they wanted included.
She said that collaboration fosters a sense of ownership among everyone in the school.
“When everybody is collaborating on projects it gives you that ownership that ‘oh wow I helped create this’,” Maynard said.
Hardesty said that safety was one of the reasons they chose the new location.
“There’s also an eliminate of safety that we have here that while we kept our building safe, the location here lends itself to more of a secluded area, so there’s not the traffic on a four-lane highway beside it and it’s not sitting beside an intersection,” he said.
He noted that the commission and other officials looked at other sites before choosing the current one.
Hardesty said it’s great that they will have the opportunity to open in time for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
“One of the things that we’re excited about, this project wasn’t supposed to be done until late October, early November and bringing kids in in two weeks, that’s just exciting it’s really nice to see the collaboration that has taken place,” he said.
The school will open its doors to students and parents on August 12, with classes beginning on August 13.