Ellsworth Dansby Junior Magnet School principal Carita Bridal Ellis told the board July 15 the new building is ready for an Aug. 13 opening and described STEAM programming, student culture systems and family engagement plans.
Ellsworth Dansby will expand a STEM focus to include the arts (STEAM). Ellis said the building includes two makerspaces, a science lab, orchestra, band, ag STEAM and coding via SAMLab Studios and zSpace technology. The school’s mission statement (shared with the board) commits to “developing future leaders by encouraging academic excellence, building critical and creative thinking skills… in a nurturing environment.”
Ellis said staff are nearly fully hired after starting the summer with 16 openings; one special-education position remained open at the time of the presentation. She described the house system (based on the Ron Clark Academy model) to build culture and student belonging through small-house teams, chants and Friday representation, and said students will learn their house by spinning a sorting wheel at orientation. The principal said Dansby will remain a uniform school (polos and khaki bottoms) because data showed students performed better when in uniform.
Upcoming events include grade-level orientation days in July, a registration/reward night at Splash Cove, a ribbon cutting on Aug. 12 followed by an open house and a transportation practice day (Aug. 8) for walkers and bike riders. Ellis thanked district custodial, buildings-and-grounds, IT and transportation staff for support during move-in and grand opening activities.
Ellis invited board members to visit and noted plans for early monitoring to adjust operations after orientation and practice runs.