Bristol’s Virginia Intermediate School prepares for first student class

BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — The new Virginia Intermediate School is about ready to welcome its first class of students. This latest addition to Bristol Virginia Public Schools (BVPS) will house the school system’s second through fifth graders.

Virginia Intermediate School l is the result of a consolidation process. The school system closed three elementary schools: Highland View Elementary School, Washington-Lee Elementary School and Stonewall Jackson Elementary School.

“Over the past decade, as we’ve looked at the cost of keeping our aging schools renovated and up to standard, the decision was made several years ago to align our resources and work towards having a brand new school that would consolidate all of our students into one elementary campus,” said BVPS superintendent, David Scott.

Virginia Intermediate School is located in Sunset Park, next to Van Pelt Elementary School.

This elementary school is also undergoing changes. It has been renamed Virginia Primary School and houses the school system’s pre-kindergarten through first graders.

The intermediate school will have pieces of the three former elementary schools in its framework, educating some former students and having brick pieces from the schools.

A brick from each school was placed at the corner of the new building.

“As we have come into this new building, one of the things that we wanted to make sure that we took stock of was the history that we’re bringing with us,” said Scott. “Even though we are beginning a new chapter, we’re very proud and very fond of the history that we’ve had in those other schools.”

The intermediate school is the first new school in BVPS in the last 50 years.

Scott is excited for students to experience the new building and have new learning opportunities, such as a rotation in the STEM lab. The intermediate school is handicap accessible, including the playground between grade wings. Plus, the building includes safety features such as a two-entrance process and special locks on the doors.

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Scott hopes the school can be seen as an opportunity to provide the best education to all students in the city.

“We have brought together so many resources,” said Scott. “We have such great new technology in place in our school. And I think there’s something special about walking into a new school and feeling that the community believes that your education is important.”

Teachers continue to put the final touches on their classrooms before students arrive for their first day on August 14. Scott said the school system is communicating with parents about the best traffic route to take to the school on the first day.

The city council decides on the future of the closed elementary schools. Council member Neal Osborne told News Channel 11 that the properties were discussed in a meeting Tuesday, but no decisions have been made yet.

Virginia Intermediate School will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 8 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

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