LONOKE, Ark. — There’s a new school being built to house the youngest students of the Lonoke School District.
Roughly 350 students between the levels of Pre-K and second grade are now counting down the days before they start in their new school, which is actually not located far from where they learn currently.
“It's very close. We actually have a board that's in between the current school and the new school concrete, so it's very close," Principal Jana Terrell said. "We've had lots of construction going on, and our kids love watching the construction at recess."
The plan is to start moving into the new 50,703 square foot building in December, with students in chairs learning on the first day of Spring semester on January 7, 2025.
Terrell said the $18 million project has been her favorite throughout her 21 year career in education.
“I feel like I've been able to do something bigger than I dreamed of and I have loved this project. I feel like I have given something huge to our kids. So this has been a dream come true for me,” she said.
A dream that’s just months away from reality.
The new building has new safety features, a larger and brighter library, and each room is decorated with purple painted walls.
“It has been amazing from seeing just dirt out there to [seeing] the walls go up," Terrell said. "We kind of called it a castle to our students, and it's just going to be an amazing setting for our kids."
It's a castle fit for royalty, ready for ruling and learning as new life, light, and love are all being poured into the future.
"Our kids are learning ABCs, one, two, threes, their shapes, and they're just they're gaining a love for learning. This school is just going to help produce that in them," Terrell said.
With the state funding the school received to build the school, the district must demolish the existing building, which will happen by Summer 2025.