Topping Out Ceremony held at Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School

The Atlanta Board of Education and Atlanta Public Schools (APS) held a topping out ceremony for the students, staff and community of Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School.

Hosted by Atlanta Board of Education District 1 Representative Brenda J. Muhammad and APS Superintendent Erroll B. Davis, Jr., the ceremony was held outside the construction site of the newly renovated Jackson H.S., which is scheduled to open in January 2014. Principal Stephanie Johnson, Jackson H.S. seniors, staff, members of the Atlanta Board of Education, APS administrators, elected officials, community members, representatives from Perkins + Will and Winter Construction, and the Maynard Holbrook Jackson Foundation signed the final two beams that will become part of the school’s permanent structure.

An International Baccalaureate World School, the newly renovated Jackson H.S. will feature the following:

· New competition and practice gymnasium
· Improved performing arts spaces
· New turf football field (can also be used for soccer, lacrosse, etc.)
· 400-meter track
· Baseball field
· New softball field
· Three tennis courts
· New classroom corridor
· New media center
· Newly renovated cafeteria

Superintendent Davis expressed his appreciation to the Perkins + Will design firm and Winter Construction Company for their work on the project. He also told the crowd that Mayor Maynard Jackson was “a force to be reckoned with who transformed everything he touched in Atlanta and beyond.” The program also included remarks from Atlanta Board of Education Chair Reuben R. McDaniel, III, At-Large Seat 8; Ms. Muhammad, who represents District 1; Barbara Crum, principal, K12 market sector leader, Perkins + Will; State Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta); and Mrs. Valerie Jackson, wife of Maynard Holbrook Jackson.

Weekly progress reports for the M.H. Jackson H.S. project can be accessed at here.