3 NAMES, 1 SCHOOL
Residents can weigh in on name for new Marion school through Nov. 20
This new elementary school will replace both Marion and Eastfield schools and it will be constructed along U.S. 70 East near the Marion city limits. It will be built on land located between the Clinchfield community and the Smurfit WestRock plant.
East Marion Elementary, Blue Ridge Elementary or Marion Global Elementary?
McDowell County residents are voting to decide on the name of the new school to replace both Marion Elementary and Eastfield Global Magnet schools.
Last month, Assistant Superintendent Chad Marsh provided both the McDowell County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education with an update on the planning and design for the new elementary school that the county and the school system have been working to establish.
This new elementary school will replace both Marion and Eastfield schools, and it will be constructed along U.S. 70 East near the Marion city limits. It will be built on land located between the Clinchfield community and the Smurfit WestRock plant, according to a previous story by The McDowell News.
McDowell County got $42 million in state lottery money for the construction of the new school. The purchase of the land was completed last year, and a traffic study was done by the N.C. Department of Transportation. The firm of Holland & Hamrick was hired to be the architects for the school building.
The overall design work was completed in June, and the new building will have two floors and auditoriums. Marsh said in October the design work for the plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems, as well as for the kitchen and cafeteria, was completed.
The next step will be to seek bids from contractors for the construction of the new school.
In October, Marsh said the groundbreaking is scheduled for spring of next year, with a completion date set for summer 2029, according to a previous story by The McDowell News.
Marsh said there will be meetings with local residents to come up with a name for the school, pick a mascot and determine its schedule. Eastfield is a year-round school, but Marion Elementary is not.
The McDowell County School System has been gathering community input through a survey posted on Class Dojo and Facebook. The School Improvement Teams from Eastfield Global Magnet School and Marion Elementary School then reviewed those survey results and used the community's feedback, along with their own input, to narrow the potential school names, according to Assistant Superintendent Amy Dowdle.
"Our first joint meeting with the two School Improvement Teams was very successful," Dowdle said. "We met at East McDowell Middle School from 3:30 to 5 p.m., with classroom teachers, special area teachers, an SRO and parents participating."
The meeting began with activities to help participants get to know one another. Participants then worked in mixed groups of four, with representation from both schools, to review community feedback on potential names, colors and mascots.
"Our primary goal was to narrow the school name options for a vote by students, staff, families, and community members," Dowdle said.
The teams reached agreement on three names: „
â– East Marion Elementary
■„ Blue Ridge Elementary „
â– Marion Global Elementary
Together, the teams also developed a voting process and timeline.
Voting on the name for the new school started Monday, Nov. 2, and will last through Friday, Nov. 20, and a recommendation will be given to the Board of Education at its December meeting.
A flyer containing a QR code and voting link was shared on Class Dojo and Facebook.
"The collaboration between the two schools was encouraging," Dowdle said. "Our next meeting is scheduled in January and will focus on narrowing the choices for school colors and a mascot, as well as establishing a process and timeline for gathering feedback. In preparation, team members were asked to consider the heritage, traditions, and meaningful items from each school that they would like represented in the new school."
At the end of their first meeting, participants completed an exit ticket sharing what excited them most. Their responses reflected enthusiasm for a fresh start, opportunities to build relationships across the two schools, and the chance to create something new together. One especially meaningful response described the excitement of seeing students' faces as they enter the new school on the first day, Dowdle said.
At the October meeting with the commissioners, the architect for the project said the goal is to build a new school for Marion which will serve this community for the next 80 to 100 years.
