‘They’re building it just for me’: Montgomery County students welcomed onto new campus

Nicole Stennett hoisted her 6-year-old son in her arms. The wiggly boy was desperate to watch the grand opening of his new school, but he needed a lift to see past all of the excited grown-ups.

The family lives across the street from Burtonsville Elementary, and when Nicholas saw the construction, the first grader turned to his mom and said: “They’re building it just for me.”

That’s the feeling Montgomery County Public Schools leaders hope to instill in the students who will, starting next week, be learning inside of this brand-new campus.

“We’re so invested in you,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor told the crowd shortly before the ribbon cutting.

Lately, much of the facilities news coming out of Maryland’s largest school district has been negative. A $3 billion deferred maintenance backlog. Hundreds of work orders for mold remediation. A capital budget from the county that won’t make a big enough dent.

But on Friday morning, there were balloon towers, cheerleaders and oversized scissors to celebrate 99,499 square feet worth of good news.

The $59 million Burtonsville Elementary campus was years in the making. The former building, constructed in 1952, sat in an industrial area. Families dealt with overcrowding, HVAC problems and bus loop issues.

This building is designed to feel open, bright and full of nature. Posters on the walls tell students: “The Sun Powers Your School!”

It will feature roughly 1,300 solar panels intended to make the campus a “net zero energy school” that could produce as much clean energy as it uses.

After cutting the ceremonial ribbon, Taylor and other district officials let students snip off pieces of it. Melvina Shaw, 8, snagged a small white square with a yellow star.

“It’s special because I got it from my new school,” she said.

Melvina plans to keep it safe, tucked away in her backpack.

Inside the building, Melvina gasped at how pretty everything looked. Shiny green tiles dotted the floor. The gymnasium felt gigantic. “Look, there’s a locker!” Melvina said. She was used to her classroom cubby.

Her mom snapped photos of Melvina smiling with the school mascot, posing on the staircase and standing in front of a mural that welcomed students in a dozen different languages.

Melvina seemed most excited to see all the teachers. She told them all about how she’d spent the summer reading “Cinderella” and “Peter Pan.”

Teacher Bela Desai worked with Melvina on her reading skills when she was a second-grader. Now that she’s starting third grade, Desai made sure Melvina learned her new classroom number and location so the little girl would know where to find her for any help.

“Don’t forget to come and visit me,” Desai told Melvina. “You’re going to have such a good year.”