School. The project is expected to be substantially complete by May 5. Photo by Blenna Patterson.
By Heather Bell
RADFORD – When school starts for the 2022-23 school year, the City of Radford’s youngest students
will once again have a school to call their own, as the expansion and renovation project at McHarg
Elementary School is nearing completion.
According to Radford City Schools Superintendent Robert Graham, the estimated completion date for the
project is around May 5, leaving plenty of time for classrooms to be outfitted and finishing touches to be
completed before school starts in August. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held Nov. 18,
2020 on the $16.7 million project and it has taken a bit longer than expected. The COVID-19 pandemic
affected supply chains, significantly altering the timeline. Graham said he is glad to be seeing the finish
line.
“As hard as it has been to start and begin to finish this project during a pandemic, it is going to be a very
special place for our students, staff and school community members,” said Graham.
Graham lists his top five most exciting features of the new school as:
1. The new gymnasium.
2. The new kindergarten classrooms area.
3. The new second grade classroom area.
4. The new library and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) room
area.
5. The newly renovated 21st Century classrooms.
“I am also excited for our community as the McHarg sleigh riding hill is now steeper than it was before
the project started,” he added. “Bring on the snow!”
The completion of McHarg School, which serves grades Pre-K through second, also means Belle Heth
Elementary School students, who are in grades third through sixth, get their campus back to themselves.
Fifth and sixth grade classrooms have been utilizing mobile classroom units for the past two school years
to make enough classroom space for all the grade levels.