“It is such an amazing experience to be able to be in this beautiful building. The morale is up, and our students are happier,” praised Marquita Jackson, the STEM teacher at Cobb’s new Clay-Harmony Leland Elementary School.
The new school, which was built with the help of Ed-SPLOST dollars, just completed its inaugural year as the replacement school for Clay Elementary School and Harmony Leland Elementary School. When students walked into the state-of-the-art facility, they walked into a school that was three times the size of Clay and more than twice the size of the former Harmony Leland.
“You walk through the halls, and the halls are twice the size of what your regular school would be,” said fourth-grade teacher Karley Good. “You walk into the classroom, and everything is brand new. Everything is spotless.”
Students, like third-grader Brelana, are quick to point out the abundance of space at their new school.
“There is a lot of space in the library, and the playground looks awesome,” she said.
Fifth-grader Alexander agrees and is thankful for all the space that enables every student to have a classroom inside the building.
“There are no trailers. No one has to go outside in the rain,” he added.
In the future, students can expect to see fall festivals, annual dances, and career days hosted inside the school, where there is now enough room for the whole school community.
“We are going to have so much space, which is going to allow for even more families to come in. We are looking forward to coming together and making more memories for our families and the community,” said teacher Dr. Candis Ervin.
Thanks to the Ed-SPLOST funding, the new school building provides many options for students both indoors and outdoors, according to Dr. Ervin.
“They have playgrounds, a blacktop where they can do chalking or play basketball. We have a field where they can just run freely [and] play soccer. Inside, our media center is so large. There are so many cozy places to read or work on the computer,” shared the Cobb teacher.
For the Clay-Harmony Leland teachers, the extra space is not all that makes the new school so great.
“With Ed-SPLOST funding, our school has been able to buy all new equipment, which has been fantastic,” Ms. Good explained. “New PE equipment, all new music equipment, art supplies, and the STEM teacher has so many awesome new things that she’s able to use.
Ms. Jackson had even more praise for her new school.
“With all the technology and innovations here, it provides exposure for our students and allows them to see learning in a new light,” the Cobb teacher added.
In the upcoming Ed-SPLOST VI, another new elementary school is planned for the growing South Cobb area to enable the District to support the community's needs better. So, a school, like the new Clay-Harmony Leland Elementary School, could be coming to an area near you.
