Class is back in session, but construction continues at the new W.F. Herman Academy.
The school transitioned over the summer from a high school to a JK to Grade 12 school, and that meant extensive renovations at the school. However, Secondary School Principal Josh Canty says most of it is done. There is just a parking lot and the elementary school gymnasium to finish, but Canty says that won't take much longer.
"I believe that gym will be completed at the end of the month," he says. "We're looking at early October."
He says the first few days of school have gone smoothly, but with 1,250 students, there's a lot more noise than there used to be.
"The only area that's been a concern so far is period four for us, falls on the elementary recess in the afternoon. So, they're outside some of our academic classrooms, and it has become an issue, especially because those classrooms are not air-conditioned, and the windows do need to be open," says Canty. "My secondary school teachers love the kids. They certainly don't blame the kids, but they've been getting on me to get some window air-conditioners so they can keep the door closed."
Students who used to go to Percy P. McCallum Public School, now attend Herman. The building that used to house those students is now called Ford City Public School.