CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The new Kanawha County elementary school, which will house students from four consolidated schools, now officially has a name.
On Thursday, during the Kanawha County Board of Education meeting, members voted unanimously to name the school Country Roads Elementary.
The new school will serve students from Belle Elementary, Mary Ingles Elementary, Malden Elementary, and Midland Trail Elementary. Last year, after four emotional public hearings, the board voted to consolidate the four schools into one elementary school due to declining enrollment.
Assistant Superintendent for KCS, Amanda Mays said they began the process in Spring 2025. She said they met with community members, the principal, and family during the process.
Mays also explained that they want students to have a say in the process.
“But we do want them to have a by-in into the school, this is where they’ll go and if they don’t they have siblings, cousins, friends, neighbor’s that will,” she said.
She said that each classroom was asked to come up with different name ideas. The list was then narrowed down, the schools voted on the options, and the top three names were selected.
The top three names included Country Roads, Black Bear, and Black Diamond.
Mays said there was a huge turnout when it was time to vote on the name.
“We had about 500 students vote and then the community voted, and we had about 950 community members voted,” she said.
She said they told everyone early on the vote would be 50% students, 50% adults.
Since the board has voted, the students will now create the school’s colors and mascot.
Board President Ric Cavender said he loved the approach they took to naming the new school.
“We always said we want to make sure these naming’s and mascot all comes from the communities and the schools, so this was a really great process you all used,” Cavender said.
KCS Superintendent Paula Potter said the process was meaningful.
“It’s been exciting, all of the people that have been involved its been an exciting process, and they’ve wanted to know this name for a long time,” Potter said.
The new school is expected to a $30 million project, with Kanawha County Schools contributing $10 million and the West Virginia School Board Authority contributing $20 million. The new facility will be located in the eastern part of Dupont City, on the site of the old Dupont Junior High School.
The new school is expected to be complete in fall 2028.