Tatum Northington
Elmore/Autauga News
Photos by Tatum Northington and Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Autauga County Board of Education along with the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a groundbreaking at the future site of the Early Learning Center. The Early Learning Center will house the new Kindergarten and will also have a Pre-K wing. The Early Learning Center is being built beside Daniel Pratt Elementary and the Prattville YMCA’s Field of Dreams. The school will be approximately 87,000 square feet and will be state of the art, while also retaining the traditions of the layout of the current Kindergarten school.
Many citizens were in attendance as well as City, County, Board of Education, and State elected leaders. Chamber President Catherine Porter welcomed everyone to celebrate the “momentous occasion with the investment in not only our children but education across the community” and thanked all the local officials in attendance.
ACBOE Superintendent Tim Tidmore opened by saying “This is something that has been a need for several years. We had a good opportunity to enter into some great financing and were able to take advantage of the resourcefulness of previous boards, board members, and superintendents by putting us in a great shape financially so we were able to have the funds on hand to create this vision of a new school for our Kindergarten and Pre-K wing. I am hoping that this is just the first of many very much needed buildings for the county to continue to grow for our future.” To see the plans for future projects please visit the ACBOE site. He thanked everyone for being in attendance and praised the teachers saying “In case you don’t know we have some of the hardest working teachers in the state, and I am proud to work with them for over two years now. I am amazed every day and am always appreciative of the spirit of working together for our children.”
Board Chairman Jim Manderson then addressed the large crowd. He began by saying how great the day was, being a member of the board for 12 years and this being the first building they’ve opened ground on, as first priority was getting financials right and hiring the best teachers. Manderson said “This is absolutely, positively needed. Our current buildings are getting old as you all know, and this new building will give us a boost and be more energy efficient. The most important thing is that this will support the education needs of our very young children, so there is no limit to what they can do.”
Manderson continued with his praise of the work of all teachers in the county, being their best for students of the county, and praising how they do so much with so little. He discussed image and wanting to bring new businesses and citizens to the community and how important education is to this endeavor. He said “Future businesses and future teachers want to know how a community values education, and the first example of how a community values education is the condition of their schools. That is number one. The quality of the teachers, of all those involved, don’t get a chance to show how great they are if the facility that they’re in doesn’t impress.”
County Commission President and ACBOE New Construction Coordinator Jay Thompson spoke next. He thanked the Board for their vision for growing and bettering the county and how important state of the art facilities are for education. “The building is going to be 87,000 square feet as Superintendent Tidmore said. Today with the groundbreaking, it will take about two years to build. We are trying to build a building that suits our students of today, not our students of 1920.”
He shared facts from the 1920s like who was president and the best music of the time, proving his point of the need for new facilities. “We are excited. There will be a fully functional gymnasium, lunchroom to accommodate all students, as well as a storm shelter to be open to the community in times of crisis. We can all remember years ago the tornadoes that came through our area, and this will be able to help those seeking shelter.”
When EAN asked Manderson why starting with a Kindergarten and Pre-K building would be best for the district, he said “We looked at our facilities with a study to help us understand the needs across the district. The current building is the oldest in the area and the most expensive to maintain because of its age. It is not adequate to meet the needs of students today, and to keep our students and teachers safe; to help them meet all their needs.” The ceremony concluded with all officials breaking ground with four special guests – a group of three-year-olds, helping break the ground of a school they will attend.
