School renovations underway for new stem center

JACKSON, Tenn. — A former local school that’s been shuttered for years will soon be a place to enrich the lives of students in Jackson-Madison County.

A tour of the former Malesus school allowed community members the opportunity to come and view the school before the renovations began.

Some former faculty members and students were present as well.

This historical school will be the home of stem innovation for middle school students in Jackson-Madison County.

Dr. Theresa McSweeney stated that she was very proud of how the process has been going to rebuild the school.

“We’re really excited about the collaborative spaces, so the gym, the cafeteria, the library. Those are large spaces in this building where we will have e-sports tournaments, robotic tournaments, a surprise coming with drones,” McSweeney stated.

Enrolled students will spend a portion of their school day learning science, technology and engineering.

This is the first of a two-part conversion for the school to become a cyber school hub, a school within a school pull out model.

So far, four offices have already been refurbished.

Although there is work to be done, McSweeney stated that renovations will begin this semester and finish by the 2024-25 school year.

“They are painted, they are fresh and clean, but they don’t have HVAC yet, but in phase 1, the HVAC system will be replaced here, and the electrical will be placed here so that it will be able to provide state of the art internet,” McSweeney explained.

McSweeney also thanked everyone who played an integral part in the development of the Malesus stem innovation center.

“I want to say thank you to Dr. King for his vision of bringing innovative options to our students,” McSweeney shared.

This is an optional program and registration will begin in January. According to officials, renovations will officially start November 13th.