JACKSON CENTER — A project that has been in the works for nearly three years is almost done: the new Jackson Center School will be dedicated on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m., with the annual open house lasting until 4 p.m.
The dedication ceremony will be led by the students, much like the groundbreaking ceremony. The ceremony is expected to be around 20 minutes long and feature speeches from a kindergarten student, fourth-grade student, ninth-grade student and the president of student council. For the ribbon cutting, a student from every age level will participate.
A preview of a documentary about Jackson Center will also be shown at 3 p.m. at the open house. The film, made by Ondo Media, focuses on Jackson Center’s community.
“You will not only see the stories of the history of Jackson Center but also the special relationship between the community and the school which of course means we will be talking about high school basketball and volleyball, and of course don’t forget Airstream,” said John Ondo, the documentary’s filmmaker, in a press release.
The film will run on Monday, Aug. 28, at 6 and 7:15 p.m. at Elder Theater with free admission, and a TV version will run on WTLW TV 44 on Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. and Oct. 7 at 10 p.m.
Ground was broken on the project in early April of last year, following the levy voted on in November 2014. The new 64,000-square-foot construction has 16 classrooms, a media center, outdoor dining and science areas, increased integrated technology and USB ports throughout the building.
“We tried to make the school a place the kids would enjoy coming to by incorporating kid-friendly elements,” Superintendent Bill Reichert said. “There’s technology, tons of windows and we tried to incorporate pieces of history.”
The $8.8 million project still has some ways to go. While the building itself has its final inspections occurring, the grounds, parking and street work is still on-going in coordination with the village. Renovations in the 1982 and 1965 areas are still progressing, but are expected to be done by Thanksgiving.
Superintendent Reichert welcomed everyone to the open house on Sunday.
“Anybody’s welcome,” he said. “We’re proud of where we’re at, but we’re not finished yet.”
The first day of school in the new building will be Aug. 29.
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