New Stafford head start center opens with little fanfare

NORTH STAFFORD — A new head start center in North Stafford opened this week with little fanfare.

“There wasn’t a letter sent out to parents about it being opened. There wasn’t anything on Facebook. There was something on Twitter, but I don’t tweet,” one parent told the Stafford County School Board during its Tuesday night meeting.

A low-key grand opening event was held on Sunday.

The North Star Early Childhood Education Center is one of the newest facilities in the Stafford County School System. Located off Route 610 in North Stafford, the new center is in the former Stafford Campus of the Fredericksburg Christian Schools.

The school division decided to buy the empty building for about $10 million.

“We could have done more with [the grand opening of] North Star. It’s done. We need to focus on the children,” said Garrisonville District School Board representative Pamela Yeung.

Stafford schools described the North Star education center as:

North Star Early Childhood Education Learning Center

Organizers initiated the design for the new North Star Early Childhood Education Center in April 2018. The school will house Early Head Start and ECSE students. The renovations began in February 2019.

The new site features 21 classrooms with bathrooms, a new multipurpose area, library, clinic, and a kitchen. Classroom features include built-in sinks and cabinets, built-in cubbies for teachers and students. The facility also has interactive TV’s in each room and a colorful teacher wall.

The multipurpose room will feature a beautiful mural on the back wall and a newly renovated stage area, which will also serve as the library. The kitchen features all new equipment. The large outside space will allow for future growth for additional classrooms in the coming years.

The school division did, however, held a large community celebration for the opening of the new Anne E. Moncure Elementary School.

A school division press release states:

New Anne E. Moncure Elementary School

The design of the new Anne E. Moncure Elementary School supports the Stafford County Public Schools (SCPS) C5W vision which focuses on: communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, citizenship, and wellness. The interior transparency will foster a strong sense of community connections for students, staff, and parents. The exterior transparency connects Moncure’s community of learners to the natural setting that exists on site. The building is a LEED Silver certified and Energy Star rated school. The building will accommodate approximately 964 students and open with grades K-5. The new school provides enhanced instructional environments with a focus on active learning.  The building integrates up-to-date technology, carefully exposed building features, personalized and collaborative spaces.

Key Features:

• Efficient HVAC equipment

• Full-size regulation the basketball court in the gymnasium

• Open Library with second floor Maker Space

• Collaborative learning areas at each educational neighborhood

• Roll-up door on the stage for outside performances

• State of the art sound systems in the music room and gym

• Art room exterior patio

• Outdoor instructional areas

• Writable wall surface and cabinet doors in all classrooms

During the community celebration on Friday, August, 2, it was clear that there was more work to be done to install some final pieces of the paneling in hallways on walls and inside the school gym. Stafford County Schools Superintendent Scott Kizner said that there is also more work to do with adding some new doors and making sure all of the audio and visual classroom equipment is working properly.

“There are contractors that know how to do it to where they don’t interrupt student learning,” Kizner said at Tuesday’s School Board meeting.

School officials thanked Stafford County Administrator Thomas Foley for helping the school division expedite the building occupancy permit process in time for the start of the school year on August 12. That’s the earliest the Stafford County Public School students have returned to class following a summer break.

The property on which the old Anne E. Moncure Elementary sits will be deeded to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and will most likely be sold to real estate developer.

The on-time opening of the new Moncure bests that of the new Stafford High School in  Falmouth, which opened in 2015, two weeks after the start of the new school year.