COROLLA, N.C. — Tuesday marked the first day of school for the Water's Edge Village School (WVES), and it's also a day that has been 14 years in the making.
"This has been a long time coming. We are all so excited to have made it to this day," said Sylvia Wolff, director of the school.
A brand-new, nearly 4,000-square-foot school is what the students walked into on Tuesday morning after more than a decade inside a schoolhouse that was not even 1,000 square feet.
School leaders have wanted to provide space and expanded education to their students from day one in 2012.
"We want people to be able to access the education in the way that we do it. Which is project-based learning, hands-on, kids outside, low student-to-teacher ratios, and just whole child environment, and we're there. So now we've got the space to be able to accommodate the community that is seeking that kind of education. So that was the main goal, and so here we are," said Wolff.
With space like this, the possibilities are endless for the school.
"Now we've got space, and we've got tables, and we've got the ability to plan in a way that is consistent and efficient and hopefully will continue to allow our kids to just grow to their own potential," said Wolff.
The previous limited space also extended to the number of students the school was able to serve each year.
"Now we've got the ability to be able to offer a local education without having to worry about having to turn people away or not being able to offer that opportunity because of limited space," said Wolff.
This is a new chapter in education for the area, which WEVS is proud to continue to offer each year. School leaders see that continued community support helped make this dream possible.
"I just want to acknowledge that this project would not have been possible without the incredible support of the community, of individuals, of local businesses. We know this has been an incredible feat and a long time coming. There's a whole group effort, and we're really proud and humbled by the amount of support that has come out of it," said Wolff.
