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The renovation process at Prince Edward Elementary took another step forward on Wednesday, Aug. 21, as the mobile classrooms arrived on campus. It turns out the tropical storm and other weather in recent weeks only delayed the project by a few days, as the trucks showed up in a mini-parade of sorts. 

“This is an exciting time for Prince Edward County Elementary School,” said Teresa Vance, the school’s principal. “This is the next step in the renovation process and we can’t wait to watch as the project continues!” 

Those classrooms are needed because that’s where classes will be housed as their respective areas get renovated. Starting off later this fall, third and fourth grade students will be transferred over. Currently, the classrooms are expected to be moved over during fall break, with teachers transferring over needed materials. Then the students could move over in the middle of October. Why not now? Because now that the mobile units are here, there’s some work that needs to take place. All total, 15 mobile classroom units, two toilet units and a teacher workspace need to be installed. They will be connected to power, to safety and fire alarm systems. The same goes for plumbing and data systems, all of which will be used for an estimated three year period. 

Now to be clear, none of this includes the actual beginning of the full renovation. Kenbridge Construction, for example, is only working on the mobile classrooms. The hope is to have a recommendation in place to hire a contractor for the big project by mid-October. 

So what will change? 

Even after construction starts, most everything will remain the same this school year for parents and students. For the rest of this school year, you’ll still be dropping off and picking up your student in the same place as you do now at the school. Parents also won’t be losing any parking spaces to construction right now. Current plans have all of that set to start changing next summer, coinciding with the completion of the new main front door and library. The school’s front entrance should be relocated by July 2025, getting traffic off Eagle Drive and creating a loop that makes both drop-off and pick-up easier for parents, students and staff. 

Once construction starts, the project involves demolishing the two oldest buildings at the elementary school. In their place will be new construction connecting the remaining buildings, making it much easier to travel between classrooms. It also involves more seating options, bigger classrooms in some cases and more options for hands-on learning, all of which were asked for by parents and staff during the community meetings in 2023. 

Prince Edward Superintendent Dr. Barbara Johnson said while things have gone slower than expected, she and her staff have appreciated the community’s patience. 

“We appreciate the community’s patience as construction continues,” Johnson said. “We are building an amazing future for our youngest Eagles and eagerly await the next steps on the project.”