CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - On Thursday afternoon, Chesterfield school leaders cut a ribbon to commemorate a new chapter for Falling Creek Middle School, which will welcome students and teachers into a new building for the start of the school year on Aug. 19.
“My excitement is really for the community and the students,” said Falling Creek Middle School Principal Quincy Waller. “Throughout the past 10 months, it’s gone from just a skeletal structure to what you see here today.”
Chesterfield school leaders tell us this building is the county’s first 3-story middle school and the largest middle school in central Virginia.
The space, which includes a gym, cafeteria and classroom space, will have the capacity to serve 1,800 students.
 

Jefferson Union High School District used to lose a quarter of its staff every year, which meant that it began every school year scrambling to fill vacancies. That changed in 2022 when the Daly City-based district developed affordable housing for its staff.

The district built 122 units on school district-owned land that is now fully occupied by 25% of the district’s staff. Board member Andy Lie said the district is beginning the new school year with zero vacancies, a transformation he calls “remarkable” and “unheard of in public education.”

In January, legislation to ease zoning requirements for school districts interested in building affordable housing took effect. Jefferson Union High and a handful of other districts in the state are ahead of others in providing housing for both teachers and classified staff.

Districts with success stories, as well as local and state leaders, will be at an Aug. 14 housing summit convened by the California Department of Education (CDE). During a news conference Tuesday at department headquarters, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said schools own 75,000 acres of undeveloped land that could be used to build 2.3 million units. Thurmond wants to see these units built over the next eight years as a way to address California’s teacher shortage.

Central Grade School, a stately, red-brick building in Traverse City, has a long history. The first school building was constructed there in the 1870s, got expanded, and was severely damaged by a fire in the 1930s before getting rebuilt.

“You can see on that sign it used to be a junior high school,” said Suzannah Tobin, walking around the outside of the school, which is three stories tall at its highest point and stretches for a block on each side. Tobin is an architect who grew up in the area. Until recently, she served on the Historic Districts Commission.

Discussions of maintenance and renovations to Central Grade go back years; officials have said it needs major updates, like reopening a shuttered third floor that hasn’t been used by students since the 1970s due to health concerns. A 2023 facilities assessment recommended replacing the entire electrical distribution system.

STAMFORD — A revised estimate for the total cost of a new Westhill High School has shot up 53 percent since the original budget for the project was presented in 2022.
The new total is now $461 million, a big jump from the $301 million project city officials originally expected.
Kemp Morhardt, a principal at SLAM Architects, described the elevated price as "sticker shock," but said the team working on the project has looked for ways to find savings.
“We have scrutinized this project and it is where the market is today," he said during a special meeting of the Board of Finance held Tuesday morning.
A big driver of the increased cost is escalation, which has "continued to increase in an unprecedented fashion since the pandemic," read an update posted to a website created by the city and dedicated to Stamford Public Schools construction projects.
 

ANCHORAGE, Ky. —
Students at Anchorage Public School are set to return to class a week from Wednesday, but the superintendent is requesting a delay.
In a letter to parents, superintendent Karen Solise said last week’s heavy rains caused roof leaks and led to the discovery of mold in the building.
Solise released a statement Wednesday morning.
"On July 22 and 23, heavy rains and roof leaks led to the discovery of mold within certain areas of the Anchorage Independent School District building," said Solise. "Professional mold and air testing has been taking place since that time. Using the protocol provided by the testing company, we have secured an expert mold evaluation and removal contractor which has already begun work, while simultaneously making roof repairs and HVAC adjustments as necessary, all following state and federal guidelines."
 

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction took a first pass Wednesday at telling state lawmakers how much it would cost to fully protect students from the risks of carbon monoxide and radon gas in classrooms.

The answer: $85 million, though school facilities director Nathan Maune told the state Board of Education that numbers are preliminary.

Many older North Carolina schools don’t have carbon monoxide detectors, and radon mitigation systems in schools are almost unheard of.

Last year, the General Assembly ordered DPI to survey schools to figure out the cost of adding carbon monoxide detectors to older schools, as the building code now requires for new construction, and testing for radon.

Maune said not all school districts have responded to the survey, but so far it looks like almost 3,800 classroom buildings have fuel-burning boilers or appliances that could create a carbon monoxide leak.

WENDELL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The first day of school is never a good time for the air conditioning in a heat wave to stop working, but that's exactly what happened for students at Lake Myra Elementary in Wendell.

"It felt sweaty," said kindergarten student Trace.

Trace was just one of the pupils who barely got through orientation on his first day of kindergarten before about an hour later parents got the call to pick up their children. A broken AC unit made the classroom unbearable.

"When they're so excited they're starting kindergarten, you're trying to get them into a routine and you're just not sure day to day if you're going to be able to go to school or not, it makes it hard," said Trace's mom Ashley Harris.

For parents, the quick turnaround was a challenge. The Wake County Public School System told ABC11 that it has the parts on hand and HVAC specialists are making the repairs.

The fate of this upcoming school year for approximately 12,000 Guam Department of Education students remains murky. 

As GDOE clarifies, 19 public schools look to have their doors shut as they await sanitary inspections by Public Health. 

The legislature headed into day two of an emergency session with education and Public Health officials as they sort out if Bill 317, which seeks to keep schools pending inspections open, is a solution worth passing. 

Francine Salas is a Health Management Analyst with the Department of Public Health’s Division of Environmental Health and she said, “The thing is, once the school hits 41 demerits, they cannot operate. They pretty much failed the inspection. So should Bill 317 pass the way it is written now and they had failed before the enactments, they wouldn't be able to operate if we were to shut down that school.” 

Salas added whether or not the legislation passes has a greater impact on Guam DOE. 

However, on the DEH inspector's end, she said on average, inspection of a school takes roughly one week. 

The start of the school year begins Aug. 8. 

Two-thirds of Vancouver high schools are considered at high risk of severe damage or collapse during an earthquake, according to a report from the Vancouver school district.
That means more than 21,000 students in the 2023-24 school year were enrolled in high schools that B.C. engineers determined could collapse in an earthquake. A disproportionately high number of the schools are in southeast Vancouver, where there are no seismically safe high schools.

For now, the schoolyard at Samuel Clemens School in Milwaukee is a large slab of asphalt with a few basketball hoops in the corner. The only shade cover is provided by a row of trees near the fence — away from any play areas — and a metal structure without any seating.

Allyson Moore, the school support teacher, said students often cool off in the shaded areas before dashing back to games they're playing in the center of the asphalt. Recess time is limited, and they want to make the most of it despite the sometimes high temperatures.

However, recess is set to look very different for students at Clemens in fall 2025.

Thanks to a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Urban and Community Forestry Program to a group of applicants from Milwaukee, the school's yard will soon include a turf soccer field, outdoor classroom seating, raised garden beds, a GaGa Ball Pit and 45 stormwater trees to provide shade. About 43,100 square feet of asphalt will be replaced with synthetic grass, native plants, bioswales and walking paths.

Tacoma Public Schools is celebrating the completion of 17 new playgrounds, marking a significant milestone in the district’s commitment to fostering vibrant and inclusive recreational spaces.

Stanley Elementary recently unveiled its new Pre-k and K-5 playground set. The Pre-k play area is designed to support students with diverse needs. The K-5 playground equipment includes an outdoor fitness obstacle course, safety surfacing, slides, shaded area, swings and climbing structures that are ADA compliant. The new play structures have perimeter fencing that secures the site while also providing access for the public to use the play areas during non-school hours. 

Newly constructed schools Skyline, Downing, Fawcett, and Bryant (currently under construction) also got new playgrounds with their new building.

Additionally, as part of the Community School Yard program, Reed and Stafford received new playgrounds, while Mann, Larchmont and Whitman elementary schools will receive new playgrounds next year.

Community School Yards is a national project of The Trust for Public Lands in partnership with Metro Parks Tacoma. Learn more at metroparkstacoma.org/project/community-schoolyards.

TAYLOR COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV) - Crews are dodging lightning warnings and severe weather to fix damaged roofs on Taylor County School buildings following the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.

According to the district, 63 roofs were damaged by Idalia, with 41 roof replacements and 10 repairs approved so far. Taylor County Schools Superintendent Alicia Beshears said the district is working to ensure roof work can continue once the school year begins.

“It’s extremely important that our students come back to buildings that are safe and secure and that, quite frankly, won’t leak,” Beshears said. “That’s the most important thing.”

The school district has filed claims with FEMA since Idalia hit last August, and recently received a loan from the Florida Department of Emergency Management to cover the nearly $6 million insurance deductible. An estimated $10 million in damage has been approved for repairs or replacement, according to Beshears.

MACON, Ga. — Some Central Georgians are already headed back to school. In Macon-Bibb one elementary school is so excited for the new school year, that they decided to walk through the halls for a grand tour a week before classes start.
At Springdale Elementary, everyone's excited for the first day of school.
"I think the excitement on the children's faces when they walk in and see it all brand new, I think that's what I'm looking forward to the most," media specialist Meagin Jiles said.
In May, Jiles told 13WMAZ she's wanted to teach at Springdale since she was a student in the '90s. 
This year, she's getting some upgrades to her library, like better storage, better technology and a special library feature the superintendent is a big fan of.
"There's this stage area where students can sit and listen, have a story told, or get to do some mini-performances," Superintendent Dan Sims said. "I just see so much life coming out of that one corner of the building, that's kinda cool to me."
In addition to the renovated classrooms and larger cafeteria, the school's natural lighting is one of the first things you'll notice when you enter the new building.
Amore Edwards graduated from Mercer in May and this school year will be her first as a teacher. She thinks the school's upgrades will make a big impact.
"The windows are really big and there's a lot of them in the building so I think it'll uplift the spirits of everyone in the building," third-grade teacher Amore Edwards said. "Natural light's really healthy for you so I'm excited about that."
 

With the start of the 2024-2025 academic year right around the corner, several Pikes Peak region school districts have completed or are in the process of completing new facilities and upgrades .
Harrison School District 2
The southeast Colorado Springs district has undertaken a number of sweeping renovation and improvement projects in recent years, thanks to a $180 million bond issue approved by voters in November 2018.
When Panorama Middle School students return to school on Aug. 12, they will walk through the doors of a newly-renovated building, according to district spokeswoman Christine O’Brien.
Improvements include: New paint, flooring, windows and lighting, upgrades to restrooms and locker rooms, upgrades to cafeteria and gymnasiums, new pod-style flexible classrooms and small group rooms, a new entryway, makerspace and learning commons, landscaping, electrical, and upgrades to office spaces, officials said.
“I (recently) got a sneak peek,” O’Brien told The Gazette. “It’s going to be great!”
Panorama will host students from Turman Elementary this fall while the grade school undergoes bond work, officials said. To help ease the strain of additional pick-up and drop-off traffic, Turman families will have their own staggered start and dismissal times.
The district has also renamed the former Stratmoor Hills Elementary School building after a beloved former principal and current school board member.
 

A proposal for a brand new high school building for the Winchester School District appears to be off the table.
Members of St. Louis-based marketing and research firm Creative Entourage Research presented the results of a community-wide survey conducted over the last two months to the Winchester School Board on Tuesday night.
The survey received 840 responses across the district. The survey graded perceptions of the school district, perceptions of the state of the high school building, perceptions of perceived costs to build a new building or renovate the current building, and any perceptions of current need for new construction.
According to an executive summary, about half of the respondents to the survey said that they had a positive view of the education provided by the district.
Approximately 74% of respondents said they could not afford a raise on property taxes no matter the cause in the county. Similarly, approximately the same amount said they would not support the building of a new facility. Meanwhile, another portion of the survey demonstrated that there was a perceived need for updates and/or there is a problem with the school’s current facilities. More than 40% said one of the biggest problems was that the current high school is not ADA compliant, while about 32% said that there was a general perception of need for improvement at the building.
 

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — A group of residents in Cape Elizabeth is threatening to take legal action against the town council—and, by extension, the town—over a proposal to renovate the town’s school buildings that was submitted by the council chair and undercuts a version approved by the school board.

Earlier this month, the council sent two different school building improvement plans forward for public comment, the next step before a measure can land on the ballot. The first proposal was approved by the school board. It calls for $89.9 million to go toward refurbishing schools in Cape Elizabeth and reconstructing the middle school entirely.

The council approved this plan, but also pushed forward an alternative proposal by the chair, Timothy Reiniger, to instead use $42 million on the school projects and hold off on building a new middle school. The Cape Elizabeth School Board had voted against this plan.

FORT KNOX, Kentucky – The Department of Defense Education Activity will open its remodeled, state-of-the art, 21st century Van Voorhis Elementary School August 13.

The oldest school on post, 63 years old, will now have an open concept, with instructional spaces grouped together in neighborhoods where each has a learning hub, a central space used for projects, breakout sessions and activities. Learning hubs have learning studios and classrooms paired for collaborative instruction and group learning. There are also smaller spaces for one-to-one work. Neighborhoods also have easy access to outdoor learning and play spaces.

“We build a lot of things the Soldier is going to use to improve their lethality or ability to move, shoot, and communicate on the battlefield. This is a way to show the Soldier we’re also taking care of their families,” said Lt. Col. Guillermo Guandique, deputy commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District. “We’re giving them world-class opportunities for their children. We’re growing future leaders of our country, of our communities, of our Army, with a facility like this.”

A school district in San Juan County — small in student population, huge in land area — says it is in a precarious financial position as the Public Service Company of New Mexico transitions from coal-fired power to renewable energy.
Lawmakers and officials with the Central Consolidated School District are calling on the state's biggest utility to live up to the promises of a "just transition" promised in the Energy Transition Act of 2018. The legislation promised replacement power generation to be developed within boundaries of the school district as the company moved away from coal, long a key economic driver in the area.
The school district, consisting of 15 schools, a technical center and several preschools spread over nearly 3,000 square miles in northwest New Mexico, have complained about funding shortfalls following the closure of San Juan Generating Station, and worry about a future closure of the nearby Four Corners Power Plant. Both have been critical contributors to the school district's tax base.
The district serves about 5,000 students; more than 90 percent are Native American.
 

About nine months after construction kicked into high gear on Amherst County High School’s addition and renovation project, the county board of supervisors and school board took a recent tour of the work being done.

The $32 million project includes a new 1,400-seat auditorium with three classrooms in the back of the school, a remodel of the cafeteria into a new dining commons area, a new fieldhouse next to the baseball field and conversion of existing space into more career and technical education (CTE) classrooms.

“Pretty much we’re on schedule and feel good,” Amherst County Public Schools Superintendent William Wells told the group of local officials July 16.

Wells said the hope is the new dining commons area can be used in the February and March timeframe and the new auditorium and adjoining classrooms for theater, band and chorus can be ready by late March or early April.

GILBERT, AZ — From classes to friends, so much about the first day of school is new, however, some things never change.
At Higley’s Traditional Academy, a school bell in front of the campus has been there for more than 100 years. The bell is from 1909 and rings fewer than five times a year.
School staff will ring it for the end of the school year, when a distinguished teacher retires, or before the start of the very first day of school.
”The greatest thing about it is the kids really respect it...you’d think being out here in the open, kids would ring it, but they really don’t,” said Caryn Bacon, the principal of Higley Traditional Academy.
While history should be preserved, some parts of the campus need renovation.
She shared with us that the newest parts of the campus are 30 years old. We’re told the HVAC system needs to be updated and the same goes for the roof.