GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia’s largest school district had its first day of class and students got to come back to a brand new school.
Gwinnett County Schools’ newest middle school was built to address overcrowding in the district.
For the first day back, Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson was there as students returned, with Mary Kay Murphy Middle School already at full enrollment.
The school was built to house more than 1,000 kids, but for now they’re opening with closer to 950 to avoid overflowing on day one.
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Parents who spoke to Channel 2 Action News said it fills a big need in a growing county.
From the outside, the building is big, and polished.
Inside, Johnson saw that there was a lot more room for kids than the amount that showed up for school Wednesday.
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“This one is starting off at 900 to begin with,” parent Ashly Tindall said. “So that’s absolutely amazing. So intimate right now, small, while they get things together.”
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed five million people live in Gwinnett County, a 3% increase in just as many years.
New Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent Dr. Alexandra Estrella told Channel 2 Action News that all 957 seats at the school are spoken for, but there’s still room for more.
“This gives us an opportunity tot alleviate some of the overcrowding that we have been experiencing,” Estrella said.
With a new school, new year and new students, Principal Jeremy Reily is set on building every tradition at the school from the ground up.
“There’s lots of light everywhere and there is an excitement that’s being able to go through here,” Reily said.
He told Johnson that he wants Mary Kay Murphy to feel like more than just lockers and lesson plans.
“We’re going to love on your kids so that they are feeling belonging all the way throughout the building,” Reily said.
For Gwinnett County families, adding the school meant adding something back for the kids.
“It’s definitely expanding and they’re expanding with it, so that’s good,” one parent said.
Across Gwinnett County, 178,000 students are heading back to school.
Estrella said she is using the first day of school to tour some of the schools and meet with students and staff.
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