DAVENPORT, Iowa — The Davenport Community School District is continuing their plans of improving local schools, with Sudlow Middle School being the most recent to see new updates.
School board members, community members and students came to a groundbreaking commemorating the start of a new middle school building.
The new facility will be located right by the original building, with plans to tear down the oldest section of the school, built in 1919.
Davenport Superintendent TJ Schneckloth says the approach is out with the old and in with the new.
"What we wanted to do was incorporate the older aspects of the building with the new construction and bring a modern view," Schneckloth said.
The total cost of the project is nearly $62 million. It's all part of a master plan across the school district which started in 2021.
The goal is to improve facilities for students and update old infrastructure.
"Just making it feel good for kids to be here. We want to make this as special for them as it could be," Sudlow Middle School Principal Tonya Wilkins said.
With more resources and opportunities for students, officials said the extra space will help them keep up with a growing side.
"We did a long-range facility study and a part of that was looking at the population of Davenport and where that's growing," Schneckloth said. "And so far, the long-range facility study has been right on with what the growth of the population or the stabilization of the population in Davenport is."
One change is improvements to their newer areas, like the creative arts academy.
"I'm excited because I feel like it's going to advance like what we do in the CAA as in like dance. Probably gonna be a better dance room and in music there's probably gonna be better like pianos and stuff," Sudlow Eighth Grader Meti Brooke said.
While they've gotten the groundbreaking out of the way, students and staff are eager to get the ball rolling.
"They want it done tomorrow, and so do I," Schneckloth said.
Crews will start construction this week, with the project expected to be fully complete in two years.