By Alicia Couch Payne
(Buford, Ga.) — Anyone who has taken a ride past the new Buford High School campus can clearly see why people have started calling it the “University of Buford”. Located on Buford Highway, between Thompson Mill and Hamilton Mill, the new campus is impressive. Three buildings can be seen sitting atop a hill, the most stately of the three, the Academic building sits between the Performing Arts and the Athletic Buildings.
We first gave our readers a sneak peek inside the new $80 million dollar campus last year. The buildings were already grand then but seeing them complete is something else. We were fortunate to get a second tour recently to see the completed campus. Teachers and staff are still in the process of moving into their new accommodations but they should be fully moved by the time the first of the student orientations begin. By the start of school in August, it is estimated that the new campus will be home to 1,507 students, 95 teachers, and an additional 41 staff members.
School officials plan on unveiling the high school to the incoming seniors first on July 24 from 8 – 10 a.m. Juniors will get their chance on July 24 as well from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Sophomores round out the student orientations on July 24 from noon – 2 p.m. Freshman will get their opportunity during the annual Fresh Start freshman orientation on July 25 from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Buford City School System (BCSS) will be welcoming the public to view the new Buford High School campus. The public will have two opportunities to tour the high school. The first chance will be on Saturday, July 27 from 1 – 5 p.m. and the second will be on Sunday, July 28 from 1 – 5 p.m. A representative for BCSS said, “Everyone is invited to take self-guided tours during our Community Unveiling. We look forward to hosting our community.”
The official ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Sunday, July 28. The ribbon cutting will take place at 4 p.m. While the official guest list for the ceremony has not been released yet, it should feature many important local citizens, local and state dignitaries, staff of Buford City Schools, and more.
The new campus, while large was designed for ease of student movement between the three buildings. There is a central corridor that runs all the way from the athletic building through the academic building and all the way through the performing arts building. Hallways in the new buildings are wider than your average high school hallway to assist with traffic flow. The students will receive an extra minute in between classes to get to their next class.
Safety of the students and staff at the high school was a main focus in the design of the building and hiring of additional staff. The campus buildings are designed to where visitors must first get prescreened by way of a video doorbell system and then the design of the building forces them to then be screened in the front office before they can go elsewhere on the campus. BCSS formed their own police force and hired a chief and three school resource officers to help patrol their campuses. The high school will have at least one SRO on duty at all times.
During my second tour of the new campus, I was able to see first hand the attention to detail was phenomenal. Those involved in planning, building, and putting the finishes on the school took into consideration every need that the students could need. They even gave them many luxuries like a coffee bar in the library, a variety of seating options throughout the campus, nicer restrooms, jet tubs off of the weight room in the new athletic building for athletes to be iced down after a long workout, and wider lockers just to name a few.
This August will be the beginning of a new chapter in Buford High School’s already rich history. The faculty and staff, students, and the community all seem to know and appreciate the importance of this moment.
With the new school will come a new principal, Mr. Lindsey Allen.”It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the first principal of the new Buford High School. On behalf of the staff and myself, we would like to thank the Board of Education for their vision and commitment of resources to making our new facilities a reality. We would also like to thank our community for their ongoing investment in our students. All you have to do is walk into one of our three buildings and you realize what a blessing it is to be part of the Buford Wolves family,” states Allen.
In the upcoming July 5, 2019 edition of the North Gwinnett Voice, we will take you on an in-depth tour of the state of the art Performing Arts building at the new high school. The thought and consideration put into this building blew me away and you will no doubt be just as blown away as I was.
