Demolition and Renovation Begins on Expeditionary School

Expeditionary education refers specifically to learning associated with exploration and hands-on experiences. An expeditionary learning school planned for Cabell County has already undergone some changes even before the doors open.

The original plan was to have the middle school ready to become an expeditionary school that would combine the two local elementary schools, Geneva Kent and Peyton, by August 2015.

But once the project was put out for bid, the original cost estimate of just under $7 million dollars proved to be too low. It’s now believed it will take just over $13 million to turn the former middle school into a facility that could become an elementary school that meets today’s standards. The board later increased the budget to over $14 million for the project.

The new time table pushes the opening of the facility from fall 2015 to at least the start of the 2016 calendar year.

So the board was left with the decision to delay the opening of the school by a year or put the two groups of elementary students together somewhere else.

Credit Cabell County Board of Education

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The former Geneva Kent Elementary will serve as the new school for approximately 460 students the first part of the 2015-2016 school year.

An expeditionary learning school uses unconventional teaching methods, that include less lecturing and more participation. The method also includes projects that involve the community.

The Cabell County Board of Education is still deciding on the new school’s name, school colors and a mascot.