The Clarke County School District plans to repurpose the West Broad Street School site and turn it into a hands-on learning and community center to help kickstart success in students and create a gathering space for the community.
Jennifer Scott, the Clarke County School District’s interim superintendent, announced the plan Tuesday for the vacant property, which has been vandalized and damaged by fire, in two public information sessions.
“The lack of use and weather exposure have compromised the building structures, and without intervention, this site is at increasing risk,” Scott said.
We must act now, both to preserve an important part of Athens history and to move forward with a plan that gives this space new life.”
The new learning center will be utilized by the Athens Community Career Academy, which has an established history of creating real-world learning opportunities to students of all ages. Academy leaders had mentioned the possibility of turning the historical West Broad Street School into a center to support its learning pathways, and the school district has now agreed to give them that opportunity.
“ACCA leaders have long expressed an interest in this addition,” Scott said. “This is the right moment to build a program that prepares students for a high-demand career.”
The career academy has 13 learning pathways and five learning academies. Each pathway has between three to five courses that students complete that will prepare them for work in several career areas. Pathways include culinary arts, cosmetology, engineering technology and teaching as a profession.
The planned renovations to the West Broad School will include turning the Campbell Lane building into a 10,000-square-foot area for the career academy. The ACCA plans to add a construction pathway, which will have a lab space of at least 3,000 square feet and a 1,000 square foot covered patio, Scott said.
The Minor Street Building will also receive renovations and will be turned into an 11,000-square-foot, multi-use meeting and community space.
“What they are trying to do is the right thing,” said Dexter Fisher, Athens-Clarke County District 5 commissioner and a 2026 mayoral candidate. “Anything to do with education for our young people is the right thing to do.”
There is no set date for construction to start, but Scott said in an interview that she expects work will begin in about two years because they will have to get approval from the state to add the construction pathway.
Scott also said the district doesn’t have a rough estimate on the project cost.
The project was announced in two info sessions at the board district that also were livestreamed.
“We are excited to begin this journey with you, and we look forward to building something that honors our past and inspires our future,” Scott said in her prepared remarks.
Brady Logan is a journalism major in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
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