Virginia Beach, Va. (WTKR) - Thousands of students in Virginia Beach will find themselves in new classrooms this fall, thanks to a chain reaction school building swap.
"It’s kind of like a domino effect, where we are actually going to employ all of our schools to the best of our ability to take care of the students," School Board Chairman Dan Edwards told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo.
The changes started when the school division opened a brand new Kellam High School campus on West Neck Road in late January.
Students celebrate first day in new Kellam High School
The former Kellam High School on Holland Road was then spruced up and Princess Anne Middle School moved into the space over Spring Break.
Over the summer, two schools will relocate and share the now vacated Princess Anne Middle building on Seaboard Road.
Old Donation Center and Kemps Landing Magnet School, the gifted elementary school and gifted middle school, will move in together in the old Princess Anne Middle.
"That frees up the Old Donation campus because that building needs to come down over the summer because we are ready to break ground on the new combined Kemps Landing-ODC," Edwards explained.
The current Kemps Landing building on Jericho Road will transition this summer to become the 6th grade campus for Bayside Middle School, a role it has played before.
Edwards says the move should help with reaching accreditation for Bayside, but also increase the attention students receive during the transition from elementary to middle school.
"It will allow for some smaller classes and just more nurturing rather than full blown middle school all at once," he explained.
Even though the 6th grade building will be apart from 7th and 8th grade students who will continue to attend classes on Newtown Road, both campuses will still be considered one school when it comes to accreditation, sports and activities.
To learn more about the Bayside Middle School Sixth-Grade Campus, click here.
