Meanwhile construction work continues at two schools in Middletown while officials in Talawanda Schools are watching a new school wing rise from the construction dust.
The 8,000-square-foot center, which features a carpeted terraced area already popular for the school’s 600 students, said Badin officials.
“We knew the Student Development Center was going to be a nice facility, but I think it’s even more impressive than we could have imagined,” said Badin spokesman Dirk Allen.
“The student reaction has been very positive. They’ve been waiting, and they like what they see,” said Allen.
Badin High School opened in the fall of 1966 as the merger of all-boys Hamilton Catholic High School and all-girls Notre Dame High School. The school in west Hamilton is the only Catholic high school in Butler County.
The plans for the student development center were first announced in 2018 and officials said it’s the first major addition to the Badin campus since 2006.
The new center also features new student counseling offices, the athletic director’s office and meeting rooms. The new space also frees up room in the main high school building for two new classrooms.
Principal Brian Pendergest said “we’re very proud to provide this opportunity for our students.”
“That’s why we’re here - to provide quality opportunities for our students, and this certainly enhances that quality. This is going to become a hub of activity for the students, and it’s a facility they will really enjoy having as a part of their Badin experience,” said Pendergest.
Officials at Middletown’s private Marshall High School are already looking forward to the ribbon-cutting ceremony in October on their first school building expansion project. The new learning will allow the career school’s enrollment to expand to 350 students.
Across Middletown, the work on the $10 million expansion of Rosa Parks Elementary is moving forward.
“The Rosa Parks Project is going very well and it’s slightly ahead of schedule and at/below budget,” said Middletown Schools Spokeswoman Elizabeth Beadle.
“This week (construction workers) started pouring the concrete for the second floor and they’ve put block up around the entire exterior and they’re starting to lay the brick. We anticipate the project wrapping up in April 2021,” said Beadle.
And in Talawanda Schools in Oxford, work on an expanded elementary school continues on a $15 million expansion of Marshall Elementary, which will add a two-story wing to the school campus.
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