The first wall was raised Monday at Westwood Middle School as part of a new revitalization project.
According to an Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) release, the morning event came after 14 buildings– 65 years old – were demolished to make way for three new buildings.
The school’s nearly 300 students, staff and special guests were on hand for the event with comments from Westwood Middle School Principal Daniel Burney, ACPS Superintendent Shane Andrew and School Board of Alachua County Chair Tina Certain.
The remaining buildings at Westwood are being renovated and, along with the three new buildings, the revitalization project is being funded by the Half Cent for Schools initiative that voters approved in 2018. The project is scheduled to be completed at the start of the 2024-25 school year.
Westwood was recently in the spotlight when one of its sixth-grade classes collected over half a ton of recyclable materials.
Attendees of the ceremony watch from afar as construction workers raise the first in a series of panels that will eventually form one wall of the main classroom building.
