Inside look at the new Hampton County High School

HAMPTON COUNTY, SC. (WTOC) - Wednesday, WTOC was the only TV station getting a look into the progress being made on the new $55 million high school coming to Hampton County.

WTOC joined Hampton County Superintendent Dr. Glenda Sheffield and the project manager on a tour of the new facility.

They showed us the entrance of the school that features windows to bring in natural light, which has become popular with newly built schools.

“Natural light enhances learning environments, and that’s what the architects have really tried to do here,” Project Manager, Ryan Reynolds said.

They also showcased a unique open floor plan media center that may be the first of its kind in the state.

“It’s a library, but not in the sense of a normal library,” Hampton County Schools Public Information Officer, Erin Long said. “It’s really meant for a lot of learning, collaborative learning, and you can go to lunch and come back and there is a cafe up top, so it’s more like a college experience.”

We also got to see the cafeteria and a state-of-the-art gym that will be double the size of their old gym.

But what both Dr. Sheffield and Reynolds took pride in on this tour were the new Career Technical Education classrooms.

This includes classrooms for culinary, barbering, welding, HVAC, and Early Childhood Education classes.

Dr. Sheffield says it will allow her teachers to educate the whole child and will also serve as a recruiting tool to bring in more teachers.

“Yes, we get the core academics, but more importantly, we are looking forward to workforce development. If they complete the program and earn their certifications, there are amazing opportunities out there for employability,” said Sheffield.

Right now, this project is expected to be completed by April, but Dr. Sheffield says it could get extended due to construction crews finishing up small details before the eventual ribbon-cutting and first day of school for students.