FORTVILLE — Mt. Vernon Middle School’s staff mantra has been “three grades, two buildings, one family,” Principal Ben Williams said.
Sixth- and seventh-graders have been at the middle school building for years, while their eighth-grade elders have been at Mt. Vernon High School.
Now that about $12 million worth of renovations at Mt. Vernon Middle School is complete, the three classes in the “family” are finally back in one building.
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That building has 17 new classrooms and a new gymnasium. The school also built an International Cafe; added the multi-functional Marauder Hall; and made other improvements to the nearly 45-year-old structure.
All the eighth-graders moved into the middle school by early January, Williams said. A large portion were able to start the school year there, while some went back and forth between the high school and middle schools.
Mt. Vernon Middle School has about 325 eighth-graders and almost 1,000 students across all three grades, Williams said.
The multi-phase project kicked off in 2017, turning an auxiliary gym into the school’s International Cafe. Flags of countries from around the world are displayed on the room’s walls.
“We have an emerging international program here at Mt. Vernon, so we wanted to tie that in,” Williams said.
Abby Herman, an eighth-grader at Mt. Vernon Middle School, said the International Cafe holds a lot more people than the school’s former cafeteria.
Brian Evans, assistant facility director for Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation, said the school’s old cafeteria space was rebuilt with four new classrooms in its place.
Those glass-walled classrooms are called “ideation labs.” Instead of rows of desks, the labs have tables that encourage collaboration among students. The tables also have surfaces that students can write on with dry-erase markers.
Classrooms that are part of the addition to the south side of the building are also set up for more cooperation among students.
Maria Bond, director of community relations for Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation, said it’s to help students get ready for a more collaborative world.
“The goal is to provide the best learning environment possible for the student and also prepare them for what they’re going to graduate into post high school,” Bond said.
Mt. Vernon Middle School’s new gym is larger than its old one and can be divided down the middle.
“I think a lot of the older kids are jealous that they didn’t have that,” Abby, the eighth-grader, said of the additional physical education space.
New changing rooms and athletic offices were also added near the new gym. The gym is available for rent as well, serving as a revenue generator for the school corporation.
Marauder Hall, a new multi-functional space, is filled with couches, tables and chairs. Williams said it’s ideal for events like spelling and geography bees along with meetings with parents and athletic teams. Recently, the room played host to a financial literacy program for students.
Tatchi Anouan, a Mt. Vernon Middle School eighth-grader, said he’s a fan of the space.
“I like the Marauder Hall,” he said. “We have more space to do stuff.”
Abby agreed, adding the space “feels more grown up.”
A new main office and administrative offices were part of the project as well.
Completion of the project means the classes are finally back together.
“As a middle school we were functioning as one middle school but in two separate buildings,” Williams said. “As far as the educational focus, it’s good to have your faculty all in one building. It increases communication. It’s better for students. It’s better for teachers.”
The school corporation was also motivated to make the move so it can free space at the high school in expectation of growth. An enrollment forecast presented to the Mt. Vernon School Board in January predicts the corporation’s enrollment of over 4,100 students will rise to more than 6,000 by the 2028-29 school year. Since the 2010-11 school year, enrollment has grown by about 500 students.
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"Now we’re finally three grades, one building, one family."
Ben Williams
Principal, Mt. Vernon Middle School
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Mt. Vernon Middle School improvements
17 new classrooms
New gymnasium
International Cafe
Marauder Hall
New offices
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