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McNeal Elementary Demolition
Seeing the bricks lay crumbling and the walls come tumbling down is a bittersweet moment for the community that's been home to McNeal Elementary School for 63 years. Behind those walls, thousands of lives were forever changed. Built in 1952, it was a place where physicians, lawyers, engineers, teachers, musicians and more were first molded and encouraged as children that they could achieve greatness. They believed , worked hard and they achieved. The old structure produced so many professionals, says former student James Harris. He says he is looking forward to that legacy continuing when the new state-of the -art facility is constructed. "It gave me my first start. That's where my learning began. There were sandboxes in all the classrooms where the poles were. That's where we used to play. Now, I look forward to that being replaced with beautiful courtyards as we endeavor towards a structure geared towards 21st century learning."
Behind those walls, important civil rights work to achieve equality for all also took place. Ella Mae Hanner went to McNeal during the 60's. She remembers when Martin Luther King, Jr. and Freedom Riders visited the school. "It's been a blessing to our community but now it's time for change. It's time for Canton to grow and improve. It's time for a better day for us." Canton Public School Superintendent Ike Haynes says for many years this structure served a variety of needs for this community, primarily education. "It was a meeting place during the civil rights era and a shining light in our educational environment in Canton. Although the building is going, the memories and the lives it has impacted through education will live on in the hearts and minds of those it served. This new McNeal Elementary will continue the legacy of parents, teachers, and students who toiled at the old facility." "McNeal is a part of Canton's rich history. As we demolish a building that has served as the educational hub for thousands of Canton's citizens for years past, we look forward to building a new building that will serve many others to come," says McNeal Elementary Principal Shannon Whitehead.
Now, generations later, a new two-story structure is offering hope and a sense of renewal to the community that surrounds it. Current students, full of promise and potential, will get to experience a 21st Century learning environment that's more conducive to learning with improved safety, security and accessibility. "McNeal Elementary has been a school that has provided the foundation for so many lives as it helped students get to their next level in life, now it's getting an overhaul that will take it to the next level-in fact a two story level. It's poised to impact 21 Century learning by meeting the needs of a new generation of learners," says Cleo Brooks, Executive Director of Operations and Technology.
Brooks says with the passage of a 33.5M bond issue, a new approximately $13million K-5 McNeal Elementary School will be built on the existing site in late December or early January, barring any unforeseen delays. The two story building will be oriented around a secure student courtyard. The state-of-the-art classrooms has the capacity to hold 600 students. The facility will include: an interior Physical Education room with a stage, a cafeteria that can open up to the P.E. area for large events, a participatory media center with a high focus on technology, computer labs, and support spaces for Special Education, Art and Music. It will also include the integration of historical artifacts preserved from the old school. Until construction is complete, students are being temporarily housed in portable classrooms on the Nichols Middle School campus. Meanwhile, the community anxiously awaits the next chapters that will be written behind the walls of the new McNeal Elementary School as more lives are transformed there.