New Horace Maynard Middle School opens in Union County

What This Story Is About

• Students arrived at the new Horace Maynard Middle School for the first time Tuesday. They explored classrooms and new spaces including a cafeteria, library, media rooms and band room.

Why It Matters

• District leaders said the new building addresses safety concerns from the old school, including a new secure entrance and better sightlines throughout the hallways.

What Happens Next

• Director Union County Schools, Greg Clay, there is no decision on what is next for the old middle school, but once renovated, it could be used for another school.

For Context

• The old Horace Maynard Middle School, located down the road from the new building, was built in the 1950s. Today’s opening came months later than planned after weather and supply delays pushed the school past its original August start date.

Catch Up

• It is the largest school built in Union County since 1997 and the first new school in the county since an elementary school opened in 2011.

MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) — Students arrived at the new Horace Maynard Middle School for the first time Tuesday, exploring classrooms and new spaces including a cafeteria, library, media rooms and band room.

Physical education teacher Zach Goodin is in his fifth year at Horace Maynard Middle School and his first year in the new gym, which he calls his “home away from home.”

“Everybody’s brought together with this new school. I think we’re all excited to be in this new school as well,” Goodin said.

Opening delayed

The opening came nearly a month later than planned. Weather and supply delays pushed the school past its original August start date.

Director of Schools Greg Clay said the completion date was originally set before the start of the school year.

“It [the competition date] got pushed back because of weather, some material delays, things like that,” Clay said.

Goodin said helping students learn skills is part of what he values about teaching physical education.

“When I see a kid that maybe don’t have anybody at home that can help them with these like physical skills and whatnot, and just being able to show them like little things, yeah, being taught stuff you don’t usually taught at home,” Goodin said.

Largest school built in Union County since 1997

The old Horace Maynard Middle School is located down the road from the new building. It was built in the 1950s.

The new building spans 125,000 square feet, making it the largest school built in Union County since the high school was constructed in 1997.

District leaders said the new building addresses safety concerns from the old school, including a new secure entrance and better sightlines throughout the hallways.

New principal reflects on opening

Jamie Dykes is in her first year as principal of Horace Maynard Middle School. She said some of her new students were her former students at the elementary school she previously worked at.

“It’s an amazing opportunity getting to know these students that some of them were my former students at the elementary school I just came from. So, watching them grow through their education and watching them just go through and grow as individuals through middle school and prepare for high school is amazing,” Dykes said.

Expanded programs and capacity

The Union County School District said the school serves 600 students, but the new building can hold more than 800. Clay said capacity is at least 850.

The gym seats approximately 800, nearly double the capacity of the gym at the old building.

Clay said the school offers all core middle school subjects alongside expanded STEM and career technical education programs, including agricultural science, health science, a teaching as a profession track and woodworking.

“We’re excited about all the things we can do for STEM and CTE that we’re doing here,” Clay said. “We’ve got Ag Science, Health Science. There’s Teaching as Profession things we’ve got started. Those things here, like woodworking, things like that that we didn’t normally have.”

Students can also earn up to four high school credits while still in middle school. Clay said approximately 60 to 70 percent of eighth graders enter high school with at least one credit already completed, and less than 20 percent have earned up to three.

Athletic facilities and traffic changes

The new campus consolidates all athletic facilities in one location, including football, baseball and softball fields. Clay said the current school requires softball teams to travel to an elementary school for home games, and football and baseball are played on a field across the road from the existing building.

“It’s all right here together, like the high school is,” Clay said. “It’s set up like a high school.”

Car riders will enter from the rear of the building, circle around, and exit directly onto Highway 33, a departure from the current setup on Main Street, where the elementary school, middle school and high school share the same corridor.

The school is the first new school built in the county since an elementary school opened in 2011.

Director of Union County Schools, Greg Clay, said there is no decision on what is next for the old middle school, but once renovated, it could be used for another school.