Full STEAM ahead for Claxton School
Claxton Elementary School Principal Jennifer Coleman stands at the site of the new school. She said she is looking forward to expanding science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) programs at the school. (photo:Ben Pounds )
The groundbreaking for the new Claxton Elementary School was held Wednesday, April 2, with Anderson County government officials, people with contractor Merit Construction, and school staff, lifting soil with and even some students taking turns lifting ceremonial soil with ceremonial shovels. The celebration was a chance to celebrate, but there’s years of work to do before the new school opens. Anderson County Director of Schools Tim Parrott said construction will likely wrap up by February of 2027.
“My staff and I and my students are just extremely excited for this new adventure and we’re full STEAM ahead,” said the school’s principal Jennifer Coleman, making a pun on the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) programs she hopes to expand at the new location. She said she wanted to get a STEAM recognition from the state of Tennessee for her school’s efforts on those subjects.
The new school building will use the structure of the 20,000 square foot former Crossroads Christ Fellowship Church at 105 Fellowship Lane, replacing the nearby existing elementary school at 2118 Clinton Highway. The church building will house a gymnasium and cafeteria, but a new adjoining 64,000 square foot wing will hold the school’s classrooms and other facilities, making the school 81,000 square feet. Due to traffic concerns the new school will have a new entrance off Raccoon Valley Road. Parrott said he was looking to spend $27.6 million on the project without raising taxes, using different funding sources.
Parrott has called the project necessary due to the Clinton Highway location’s failings, including structural, electrical, water, security, disability access and other issues. Claxton Elementary School Principal Jennifer Coleman echoed that reasoning.
“It’s actually been built at different times, which makes it very broken up, which becomes a safety issue,” she said of the current school, saying that in the new building all the children will be “under one roof” which she said will be safer. But she also said the new facility offered opportunities for new educational programs.
“The plan is for it to be state of the art, and we are going to be incorporating science, technology, engineering arts and math hopefully in every crevice that we can here at the new school,” she said.
She said she was excited not just about the new building but also its grounds, a possible site for a new nature trail, identifying local trees and flowers along it. She said she hoped to partner with corporate sponsors to help with that project. Anyone interested in helping to sponsor the trail can email jcoleman@acs.ac.
“I am quite the dreamer and so I lay in bed at night, and I dream about all the things I’m going to make happen here at Claxton,” she said. “I tell my staff all the time it’s not just about us. It’s not just about the students at Claxton now. We’re talking about the future for kids 10 years from now. The future for teachers 20 years from now. This school is going to be the best thing in Claxton.”
