Marietta’s new middle/high school facility is progressing, with the high school portion on track to meet its projected completion in the spring of 2023 – assuming no construction or supply-chain delays occur.
The foundation, which has been poured in multiple steps is completed, and crews have begun setting steel beams in the saferooms and commons area.
According to construction management, the facility is targeted to be in the dry by mid-December.
“Hopefully, we’ll begin to move fast after that,” said Superintendent Brandi Naylor. “We are knee-deep in furniture selections at the moment. It’s an enormous task trying to coordinate what we will reuse and what we will need to purchase new.”
The majority of the new furniture will be ordered for the library media center, which will be one of the “stars” of the new facility.
Robin Mayes, District Library Media Specialist, is looking forward to seeing the long hours of planning and preparation come to life in the new library media center, which will include state-of-the-art equipment and design to make the center both functional and fabulous.
Among other features, the new library media center will include moveable center shelving to create flexibility, comfortable seating throughout, outlet chargers so students can plug in devices while working or reading, and an 86-inch smart board so the center can host virtual author visits, zoom meetings, and other group activities.
“We are also excited to have lots of natural light to promote an inviting atmosphere and visual comfort that students can enjoy while reading,” said Mayes.
The new library media center will combine middle and high school collections, reorganizing the library to make it more like a bookstore, and thus more user-friendly.
Mayes was given input in the planning of the new space and said that housing the two collections required a lot of detail to insure optimum use of space.
“After speaking to the architects, they developed a floorplan with the elements we wanted to incorporate, and we’ve made some changes along the way to improve efficiency and flow of the floorspace,” explained Mayes. “This library media center was designed with the components we need not just for today, but a future vision as well.”