Miller Middle School welcomed the community to celebrate the long-awaited grand opening on Tuesday, Jan. 7, after a series of challenging events. By Sadie Smith. This story is sponsored by Payroll Department and Serious Texas Bar-B-Q.
Transcript
On January 7th, Miller Middle School invited community members to celebrate the long-awaited grand opening. You’re watching the Local News Network brought to you by The Payroll Department and Serious Texas Barbecue. I’m Sadie Smith. The ceremony included a ribbon-cutting, distinguished speakers, a self-guided tour, and a scavenger hunt to explore the new building.
Themes of the new design are community, connection and collaboration, and we really wanted to have a building that reflected what the community wanted.
The new design includes a modern building connected by a bridge to a portion of the older structure. Renovations were necessary to update the outdated facility, which now provides students with a modern and student-focused environment.
The old building, for Miller Middle School, was more than 50 years old, and the lifespan of any school is about that, maybe a little bit less, around 40 years. And so there were a lot of things that were dated. There were systems that needed to be upgraded, like HVAC, and there were some things that were dripping from the ceiling.
Some of the modern features of the new school include a broadcast room, a media center, a makers space, and a brand new gym and fitness room for the students.
I hope that students feel really inspired in this new building. It’s full of light, it’s full of life and color. It’s very modern, and it really shows the direction that our district is taking, where we are focused on student-centered learning, where they’re creating projects that align with their interests.
The grand opening originally set for August 20th faced several setbacks, including a fire that necessitated the relocation of students to Durango High School until construction could be completed. The event was scheduled for October 24th, 2024, but was postponed to January 7th, 2025 after the tragic loss of a 9-R student.
So this event was more than a grand opening. It was also a grand closing of a very challenging five months.
This renovation was made possible by community members that voted yes on the 2020 4A bond. Further details can be found on the Durango 9-R website. For more information about this and other stories, visit durangolocal.news. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Network. I am Sadie Smith.
