First Look at Hope Academy’s New Building

Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, Hope Academy has been without a permanent home for 10 years. Tonight, that all changed when the doors to their brand new school were opened for the first time.
Students burst with excitement as they walk up and down the halls of their brand new school. Since Hurricane Katrina flooded the old Hope Academy, students have been learning inside the old Westminster Academy building but now they have a place to call their own. Hope Academy principal Kim Raulston said, “This is a wonderful move and it’s something that has been a dream for a very long time.”
This dream is now a 13,000 square feet reality. The $6 million school is tucked away on 16 acres in the heart of Florence Gardens in Gulfport. Tonight, parents and their children toured the new building for the first time.
The walls and cubbies may be bare now but in less than two weeks, students will be inside their new classrooms, eager to learn. Principal Raulston tells News 25 books, chairs, desks and even the curtains along with all other furniture will be moved over to the new facility on February 5th. The pre-k through fourth graders will begin classes in their new school on the 11th. But some third graders have already picked out their favorite parts of the new building. “The classrooms, i think they’re really neat the way that they look and it’s so much different than the old school,” said Marlie Rath. James Flynn said, “I think it’s really fun to see all the new stuff and learn stuff in our new building.”
Each year, Hope Academy plans to expand and add new grades to their student body.[mappress mapid=”2107″]