SMITHFIELD, Va. — On Aug. 28, Loud applause erupted inside Hardy Elementary School in Smithfield as Isle of Wight County Public Schools and county officials cut the ribbon for what they said is a 21st century school.
“It’s exciting, it’s beautiful," Kellie O'Brien said about the school.
O’Brien’s grandchildren will be attending the school.
“I think they’re looking forward to, maybe, a new playground, new teachers, just a new building," said O'Brien. "Nice and clean and fresh. I think that’s just going to help their overall education."
On their tour of the school, they walked the halls and took a look at some of the classrooms.
“Everybody’s ready for this. We’re excited our grandkids get to come and be a part of it and be the first ones entering in the school," O'Brien said.
Principal Shante Denson is equally excited.
“It’s a feeling I can’t explain," said Denson. "The school is awesome, but if I have to choose a favorite area I would probably say our STEM lab. Our STEM lab is composed of two different areas. We have Promethean Boards, we have resource rooms. It’s simply amazing.”
She said the school’s technology and resources for students make it a 21st century school.
“That really gives our students the opportunity to be in a school that’s thriving," Denson emphasized.
The school has been about five years in the making and school board chairman John Collick said it is needed.
“The old Hardy Elementary School just wasn’t doing it for the kids anymore," Collick explained. "We were pouring too much money into it, and the board of supervisors and the previous school board at the time realized that kids need a better environment to learn in. So they put aside the money and built this wonderful school. It’s a 21stcentury, state-of-the-art school."
He and others who spoke prior to the ribbon cutting also emphasized that building the new school was a community effort.
"This is an amazing morning to be able to stand in this wonderful facility that the taxpayers have been providing for our students and for generations to come," Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors Chairman William McCarty, Sr., said.
Isle of Wight County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Theo Cramer emphasized the school is an investment.
"This is an investment in our students, an investment in our staff, it's an investment in our own community, this is an investment in the Isle of Wight community," said Cramer.
Collick said the next big project he would like to see the school district work on is replacing Westside Elementary School.
As for the old Hardy Elementary School, he said part of it will be converted into the new, larger central office for the school district. The rest will be torn down.
