Inside Beulah's New, Ultra-Modern Middle School

Members of the Escambia County School Board and Superintendent Malcolm Thomas prepare to cut the Ribbon at the Grand Opening of Beulah Middle School, 8-30-2018

I was invited to tour the newly opened Beulah Middle School yesterday afternoon for the grand opening ceremony.  Wow-what an amazing place.  This is what the future of a modern school facility is.....today!

Students that attend this school will be treated to an ultra-modern, fully equipped school with all the trimmings:  two stories, huge gymnasium and indoor rec area, Ag. sciences center, running track, outdoor basketball courts, ultra modern home economics classes, science laboratories ( complete with eight (8) 3D printers), a robotics lab, business/computer classrooms--and the music department--THREE (3) complete band rooms with risers in the music suite, one dedicated each for chorus, orchestra, and band.

The cafeteria will double as an auditorium and the
gymnasium is incredible

During the ceremony before the tour, the assembled audience of school district officials and other invited guests heard from the architect that designed this beautiful facility, and from the builder that built it.




The facility is energy efficient and was designed to maximize natural lighting.  Additionally, the lighting is all LED, which will result in lower electric costs going forward.  Although most specifics on security were not discussed, some of the security attributes were highlighted.  The school has more CCTV cameras than any other school in the district--200 of them.  They are positioned throughout the schools and many of the classrooms have cameras.  (I found this ironic, as during my tenure on the school board I advocated strongly and on multiple occasions for the installation of cameras in the classrooms of our schools to monitor discipline issues---and this idea was flatly poh-poohed every time I brought it.  But now they are doing it!  Better late than never I guess....)  "We were able to already use one of the classroom cameras to determine who it was that defaced a piece of school property" said Assistant Principal Marietta McCaskill when I asked her about who monitors the feed and if there is a recording of the camera footage.

There are bollards around the entrance to protect from a vehicle attack, and there is reinforced security fencing outside of the classrooms that protects students in the outdoor areas adjacent to the classrooms.  The fencing looks to be INCREDIBLY stout.  at the front entrance, visitors are segregated in an enclosed and access controlled vestibule--preventing any unauthorized entry into the main campus.

Mrs. McCaskill led us on a tour of the entire facility--and I must say it was impressive.  Designed for 1200 students, the current enrollment stands at 829 according to Mrs. McCaskill.  "We are staffed for 649 at the moment, but we will soon be getting two more teachers-and that will be good." she stated.

I appreciated the opportunity to tour this facility--I'm proud to have my name on the plaque.  I'm
excited for the students and families that will be served by this school and I wish the district much success with this school---even though I voted against a middle school being constructed out here when I was on the board as I felt Beulah needed a second elementary school or a K-8 facility to alleviate the MASSIVELY overcrowded Beulah Elementary School.

But I lost that vote and the board moved forward with the middle school.

And the middle school they built is nothing short of amazing!