(Photo provided by Crown Point Community Schools)
In Crown Point, students, staff and community members recently gathered at the new Taft Middle School on 121st Avenue in Winfield for a ribbon-cutting. The building opens at the start of the school year August 16, 2023, for about 1,100 students in 6th-thru-8th grade. At the ceremony, the school district says students added items like yearbooks, spirit wear, and handwritten notes to a time capsule – and a hall pass from the 1973 time capsule at the old Taft was also included.
The new school includes 63 classrooms, two large-group instruction spaces, and nine small-group instruction labs. “The planning and work that took place in order for us to be here today began years ago. In 2020, our school board put this project in motion so that we can better serve our students. To provide our students and our community a new school without increasing the tax rate is a testament to the hard work of many individuals,” remarked Superintendent Todd Terrill.
The district says it broke ground on the new middle school in the fall of 2021 to replace the aging Taft previously located on Main Street. The former Taft building was taken down in July, and a new administration center will open on the site in September. The northern section of Taft was kept and will become the CPCSC (Crown Point Community School Corporation) Education Center, where Birth to School, alternative learning, and the 18-22 year-old Transition to Adulthood programs will reside.
Community members who would like to see the new Taft Middle School can attend a tour night on Thursday, September 21, 2023 from 4-6 p.m. Tours will take place approximately every 10-15 minutes. More information about Crown Point Community School Corporation’s capital improvement projects can be found online at www.cps.k12.in.us/capital .
