Forging a path forward: Davidson Charter Academy breaks ground on new middle school
While most schools in the area are preparing for the first day of school this month, Davidson Charter Academy is looking forward to the beginning of school in the year 2023.
After years of delay, board members, administrators, faculty, staff, and members of the community held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Davidson Charter Academy Middle School on Tuesday.
"This has been in the works for several years and we're so happy to have this event today so we can get started on this our DCA campus,” said Greg Turlington, chairman of the Davidson Charter Academy Board of Directors.
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The new middle school will open for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students in the fall of 2023 and be built adjacent to the existing elementary building located on Biesecker Road in Lexington. The new 46,727 square foot building will include 22 classrooms, a full-size gymnasium, performing arts stage, greenhouse and a commons area as well as administrative staff offices.
Partnering agencies in the project were Bradley and Ball Architects; contractors Shelco LLC; project management by Cushman and Wakefield, interior design by Lambert Design Group; engineering by Allied Design, Absolute Engineering, Structural Solutions and Dan Campbell Engineering.
Christine England, member of the Davidson Charter Academy Board of Directors, said the plan for a middle school has been in the works since the opening of the elementary school, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which closed schools for in class instruction.
“A middle school has always been on our horizon,” said England. “We started the project at the beginning of 2020. We had the building designed but we hit the brakes and took a break to wait and see what was going to happen.”
She said in lieu of the shut-down, the school installed several modular trailers to house sixth, seventh and eighth graders until construction on the new middle school could begin this year.
"We've outgrown our modulars and it's time to move to a bigger building,” said England. “I think the middle schoolers are looking forward to having their own space. It's really important for them to have their independence... We're all super excited.”
Davidson Charter Academy opened in 2018. For its first year, the school only accepted applications for students in kindergarten through fourth grade and has added a grade level each year until reaching the eighth grade this year.
Turlington said the school leadership is looking forward to expanding their campus to include a new building and to provide sixth through eighth graders with a continuation of the educational curriculum they have had for the past five years.
"We're looking for the permanence of the new building; having the state-of-the-art space for the kids to get their education. The modulars have served us for the past two years but it's time that we had the permanent building,” said Turlington.
Davidson Charter Academy is a Challenge Foundation Academy that bases its curriculum on core knowledge sequence, a research-based, content-specific curriculum in the language arts, history and geography, mathematics, science, art and music grade-by-grade.
More: Davidson County Schools consolidates South Davidson middle and high schools in one new school
The mission of the school, in partnership with parents and community members, is to foster student learning and achievement, and inspire students to become independent thinkers, effective communicators, and contributing citizens of a global society. DCA provides a content-rich curriculum that includes the Core Knowledge Sequence and Singapore mathematics.
General news reporter Sharon Myers can be reached at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter @LexDispatchSM.
This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Davidson Charter Academy breaks ground on new middle school in Lexington
