Crews Work to get Old Hayneville Road School Ready for BTW Students

From creating parking spaces to painting walls and moving furniture, it’s been a nonstop effort to get Hayneville Road Elementary up and running again.

“This has been a monumental task,” said director of Maintenance Lee McKenzie. “We have brought in a lot of people to do this. Our whole department has been on this about 15 hours a day we have been putting in. We are are almost at the point that it is ready. And it will be ready Monday morning.”

Crews have used a 150 gallons of paint, updated window units and plumbing, and transformed a library into a dance studio.
School board members say they are pleased with what they see.

“I watched them lay carpet just a minute ago and they already got the borders up around the carpet in the front office,” said board member Lesa Keith.  “The students and teachers have something that was a tragedy that has turned in to something that they can call a home at least on a temporary basis.”

And they are grateful for the volunteers that have come to their aid.

“We are certainly appreciative of all the help we have received in terms of moving from the old site here and we are blessed that we had the building in place so we could house the children in a safe, caring environment,” said board president Robert Porterfield.

While the school may be physically ready for students, school officials want to make sure the students are mentally ready for school.
There will be counselors there when they come back as well.

“But we have to transition these children into a new environment and they are learning resiliency in the process,” said principal Quesha Starks. “You can not allow that growth to take place without explaining things to them and letting them know that they can overcome and achieve in the midst of a move.”

BTW students go back to class Monday.