The Shelby County (Tenn.) district has opened a $29 million elementary school in Memphis.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that the new Parkway Village Elementary is welcoming nearly 950 students Monday to the new facility, which is replacing two existing campuses—Knight Road and Goodlett elementary schools.
"It's a win for both locations,” says Nadiyah McMurray, founding principal of Parkway Village Elementary. "It's a win for the community, and it's a win for the city at large."
The new school, with a capacity for 1,200 students, is the first new building for Shelby County Schools since Westhaven Elementary opened in 2016.
Natural light, flexible learning spaces and infusion of technology throughout the building are some of the factors that distinguish Parkway Village as a “21st Century School,” the district says. Modeled after a set of national standards, the school has amenities that encourage a project-based learning environment.
Within the 150,000-square-foot, two-story building, each grade level is denoted by a different hall color. The HVAC system and acoustic paneling on the walls are exposed, in an effort to encourage student curiosity. Students have access to collaborative learning spaces indoors and outdoors. The new building .
One criticism of combining the elementary schools comes from community members who don’t want to see long-time, historical staples of their neighborhoods go.
The school board is still considering repurposing the Knight Road building, the district says. The Goodlett building, which is directly behind Parkway Village, will be demolished.
