Six new schools will open for the 2023-2024 school year in Prince George's County, Maryland.
The six schools include:
- Drew-Freeman Middle School in Suitland
- Hyattsville Middle School
- Kenmoor Middle School in Landover
- Sonia Sotomayor Middle School in Adelphi
- Walker Mill Middle School in Capitol Heights
- Colin L. Powell Academy in Fort Washington
In total, the schools created 8,000 new spots for students.
Funding to build the schools came from what's known as the Blueprint Schools Program, a public-private partnership used to accelerate new school construction in the county.
By partnering with the private sector, the county was able to build the schools in two-and-a-half years.
Each of the schools has science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) labs with 3D printers, etchers and robotics; a video production studio; smart boards in every classroom; voice amplification systems; parent resource rooms; state-of-the-art dance, choral, orchestra, drama and band rooms; state-of-the-art kitchens; art studios; multipurpose fields and more, school officials said.
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"I’m looking forward to using every inch, and even outside of the building to just enrich them," Drew-Freeman Middle School Principal Natasha Kyler said.
Safety features such as surveillance cameras and panic buttons that allow teachers to lock their classrooms are also part of the schools.
"We have precious cargo in these buildings, and we want to make certain that we keep them safe," Superintendent Millard House said.
House and County Executive Angela Alsobrooks toured Drew-Freeman Middle School on Monday alongside reporters.
Alsobrooks acknowledged there was some community opposition to the way the schools were financed.
"What we were not going to do is continue to cough, hesitate, make excuses, complain, point fingers -- we’re going to build schools for children that are reflective of their dignity," Alsobrooks said.
Prince George's County Public Schools is the first public school system in the country to use the approach to design, build, finance and maintain a school construction program, county leaders said.
The program's price tag: $1 billion over 30 years.
A second phase of the Bleurprint program will bring eight more schools.
