Middletown Area School District (MASD) held a groundbreaking ceremony on July 15 for the new Middletown Area Primary School (MAPS), 215 Oberlin Road, Middletown, which will house students in kindergarten through grade three. The building will be located on the back of the current campus behind Middletown Area Middle School (MAMS).

Additionally, the administration building, which is currently at 55 W. Water St., will be annexed as part of the new MAPS building. A new operations maintenance building will also be constructed on the main campus.

Among those in attendance at the groundbreaking were Chelton Hunter, MASD superintendent; MASD administrators, board members and staff; state Rep. Dave Madsen, a member of the Middletown Area High School (MAHS) Class of 2004; Dauphin County Commissioners Mike Pries and George Hartwick; municipal officials; and MASD students.

Hunter welcomed those in attendance and thanked them for their support of the project. "Our community is the backbone of the school district," he stated. "They say it takes village to raise a child, but it takes a community to build a school. This entire project would not be possible without the unwavering support and dedication of all of you - community members, parents, teachers, administrators and school board members."

Hunter noted the groundbreaking marks a significant moment in MASD's history because the new school will unite the district's youngest students under one roof for the first time. He added that the district's goal is for all students to be at grade-level in reading, writing and math when they leave the building and move on to Reid Elementary, which will be converted to school for grades four and five. Programming at Reid will look more like a middle school where students will learn from different teachers in various subject areas rather than stay in self-contained classrooms where one teacher instructs all subject areas.

MAPS will offer state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities and be able to house larger classes. The district determined that additional space was needed to accommodate students living in multiple housing developments currently being planned or constructed throughout the school district.

In addition, many of the district's current buildings are aging and in need of repairs, especially Kunkel and Fink elementary schools, both of which were constructed about 60 years ago and are in need of mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades.

According to the district, MAMS and MAHS will have no building changes. Fink Elementary School, Kunkel Elementary School, the current administration building and the current operations building will be closed and possibly sold. This change is aimed to be cost-efficient because the district will go from maintaining seven buildings to possibly five buildings: MAPS, with the administration building annexed onto it; Reid Elementary School/Grade 4-5 School; MAMS; MAHS; and the operations maintenance building.

The projected opening for MAPS is the fall of 2026. For complete details about MAPS or to view artist renderings of the school and the complex, visit http://www.raiderweb.org and scroll down to "Primary School Groundbreaking" on the homepage. The website also offers a virtual tour of MAPS.