Four walls with tomorrow inside

 

A river otter is the mascot for the new GES

A magical building on Bulldog Way has blossomed from Goochland’s red clay. Bright colors and imaginative spaces signal that marvelous and important learning will happen here.

This is the new Goochland Elementary School, introduced to the community at a July 18 ribbon cutting ceremony. School board members, past and present, county supervisors, past and present, and even Superintendents of our school division, past and present, lined up to cut a bright orange ribbon. Also present was Grace Creasey President of the Virginia Board of Education and Fifth District Congressman Bob Good.

Cutting the ribbon. The panel at the rear rises to allow entry.

Ground was broken for the new school on February 9, 2023, with the promise that it would be ready to welcome students at the start of the 2024 school year, August 19. It will open on time and under budget.

The road to making the dream of a new GES reality was long, winding, and the product of many difficult conversations. Our school division collaborated with all county agencies to make the dream of a new GES, first recommended in 1996 by the Goochland Commission on the Future, a reality. Community support for the project was evidenced by overwhelming approval of a bond referendum in 2021.

The building is huge, more than 140k square feet of innovative 21^st century learning space to accommodate up to 700 students. Its design is a far cry from schools of yore whose classrooms featured precise rows of desks. Flexibility is the key word here. In a third-grade class, for instance, triangular desks grouped in fours, place students face to face to encourage collaboration, but can easily be reconfigured.  The mascot of the new school is the river otter.

Third grade classroom offers flexibility.

Principal Tina McCay

Tina McCay, GES principal, welcomed the community to her new school, a hub of innovation. “This building is a symbol of our commitment to excellence in education where students can learn, grow, and thrive.” She thanked everyone for making this day a reality and said she is excited for what the future holds. “Let this school be a place where every student can reach their full potential. I am deeply honored to be entrusted with this building. I do not have words to describe this beautiful building.”

Goochland Superintendent of Schools Michael Cromartie Ed. D., who joined the Goochland school family about a year ago, shared his excitement as he watched the building grow. He recognized many special guests, including former superintendent Jeremy Raley, Ed. D. who is currently Chief of Staff at the Virginia Department of Education. Goochland School CFO Debbie White and construction superintendent Ryan Waldrop. “Debbie White managed this process, and I am eternally grateful to her,” said Cromartie.

Debbie White dressed to match the school color scheme

Goochland Board of Supervisors Chair Charlie Vaughters, District 4, thanked everyone who dedicated countless hours to bring the new school from idea to reality. “It doesn’t just take a village; it takes a county.” He also thanked all county educators who work tirelessly every day to ensure that each student reaches their full potential. “We cut this ribbon on a band new Goochland Elementary School, which provides so many great resources and tools for teachers who work their magic and makes our children geniuses.”

Echoes of the James River flow through the school

School Board Chair Angela Allen, District 3, welcomed all to the new GES. “Today we gather to celebrate a momentous occasion, the ribbon cutting for this school, a day 67 years in the making, a generational project for the county. (65 years ago, the “old GES opened) It is one of the highest capital investments in Goochland history.” Allen thanked citizens for entrusting the school board to be good stewards in investing tax dollars for this school.  Project partners, Stantec, MBP, and Shockey were thanked for designing and building a remarkable school to meet the learning needs of county students for decades to come.

Porthole on the future

Library

“A school is four walls with tomorrow inside,” said Allen. “Our new Goochland Elementary School holds tomorrow for 700 students, each filled with great promise and unlimited potential. Each classroom will be a space for curiosity, creativity, and growth.”

Jim Yatzeck of MBP, project manager for the school, recalled the vision laid out for the new GES. “They wanted a school that was high quality, adaptable, collaborative, engaging, student centered, age appropriated, and connected to the site and nature. This vision is now a reality.”

connected to nature

A representative of Shockey thanked the community for allowing the company to be part of the project, “your hospitality has been humbling. Architects and educators from around the country will want to see the great things you’re doing here. Kudos for challenging us to design a school that is of this place. This school is unique to Goochland because place matters. The inspiration for the design is your very own James River, which was a metaphor for learning and your students. The way the river flows so to do your children matriculate. The way the river carves a path, so do your children chart their own course. The way the river has banks so do your children have teachers as guides.”

Presentation space

As the ribbon was cut, a panel that separates classrooms from the flex space entrance hall rose to open the school for exploration. Soon, excited exclamations from children and parents filled the air.

One of the speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony said that when you build a school you never know who will walk thought its doors on their way to a remarkable life. May walking through the doors of the new GES be the first step of an exceptional journey in learning.

Some photos. 

the gym

Playground

A stairway to possibilities

Cafeteria