Capitol Heights Middle School Gets Improvements Thanks to Leadership Montgomery
The non-profit group Leadership Montgomery has helped Capitol Heights Middle School with a much-needed facelift. Group members have completely refurbished the teachers workroom.
Fresh paint replaced peeling paint on walls and wood floors were refinished after removing stained carpet and cracked tile. The lounge has also been reconfigured to provide more space and a new work table was purchased.
“My staff is so excited to have a newly redone teacher’s workroom,” said Principal Cheryl Smith-Fountain. “We are so grateful to Leadership Montgomery for their commitment to helping our teachers,” she said in a printed statement.
Each year, Leadership Montgomery invites a group of local professionals from all walks of life to set aside an entire day for monthly meetings to learn about how the city works.
During their year in the group, participants are assigned to small groups that are then tasked with community service projects. They meet to assess the problem, raise any needed money and put in sweat equity to complete their projects.
As the group advanced the project, they discovered that many of the contractors and vendors that they were working with are former students of what was once called Capitol Heights Junior High School. John Bird of Birdwood Floors, who donated all the materials for the flooring, and Emily Jones of Doors by Decora, who donated to repair the doors, both have fond memories of their years at the school.
“Things were so different when I was there. All of us boys carried a pocketknife to play a game called Mumble Peg on the playground,” said Mr. Bird. “Nowadays, if you couldn’t bring butter knife to school!” The Bird family goes way back with Capitol Heights — his children and even his mother went there.
Emily Jones remembers her years in the band during the 1980’s when she developed her love of music.
“Capitol Heights is a vital part of the Morningview area in Montgomery, and we would be doing an injustice by letting such a beautiful building deteriorate. Let’s teach our future generations to care for everything in their lives, including the buildings that are passed from generation to generation.”
