The Selma Sun reports that the new School of Discovery is being built next to parts that remain of the former school, including Pickard Auditorium, which will get a complete renovation.
Schools Superintendent Zickeyous Byrd said School of Discovery, a middle school, has been repurposed and “re-imagined to be a state-of-the-art performing arts magnet academy.”
The curriculum will focus on art, music, dance theater "and so much more.” The facility will also have computer and science labs.
Byrd called the groundbreaking the “beginning of a new era of how we educate children in our community.” He says students in grades sixth through eighth will learn better and get greater meaning from “connecting content that has been typically taught as separate subjects.”
This construction project will cost $17.8 million. Most of the funds are coming from one-time Covid relief aid.
The estimated time for construction is 18 months. That puts the completion date in June or July 2025.
