Malesus opens its doors to students once again

JACKSON, Tenn. — With the school year starting, one school within the Jackson-Madison County School System is re-opening their doors with a new look.

Students all around West Tennessee started the new school year Monday morning., including those in the Jackson-Madison County school system. For some students, they arrived at their schools and then hopped on a bus to go to a different building that may be familiar to those in Madison County.

“We are very excited this morning to open the Malesus Stem Innovation Center. It is the first opening day. The first day for all of Jackson-Madison County Schools, but the first day we will welcome middle school students here back to Malesus,” said Teresa McSweeney, Malesus resident.

Many community members came out Monday morning to celebrate this school opening its doors once again. They shared many stories throughout the morning about the memories made at this building.

“It’s very, very exciting. This is the first time in 8 years that this school has been open. As you can see, we have a large turnout with our former teachers, former parents, and some former students,” said Jimmy Arnold, Malesus resident.

Stem stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Stem schools are a fairly new idea, however, their popularity is growing rapidly. It gives students the opportunity to learn in a very unique way that can help them learn more effectively.

“Then the innovation piece is that we know that the 20th century model may not necessarily meet the needs of industry for the 21st century. So we envisioned a place where students could learn in an innovative way where we would really combine science, technology, math into once discipline,” said McSweeney.

The students stay enrolled in their school half of the day where they take their English-Language Arts, social studies, and physical education classes. Then, they come to Malesus to have their math and science classes as well as their Stem elective. Some of those elective options include a Toyota Institute, cyber command, robotics, design maker, and E-sports.

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