Lexington-Richland School District Five celebrated a wall-raiser ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 4 at Nursery Road Elementary School-Arts Magnet in Irmo.

The renovation project will enclose existing classroom walls to create contained, individual classrooms designed to support a more focused and modern learning environment for students and faculty and create environments where teachers can more effectively engage students.

The wall-raising project is part of the district’s ongoing capital improvement efforts made possible through the 2024 bond referendum, which is funding projects designed to enhance learning environments, improve school facilities and meet the evolving needs of students and staff across the district.

“Today is an exciting day for Nursery Road,” Principal Karey Fisher said. “Our theme for this project is ‘Building Future Champions,’ and I can’t think of a better time to begin. Nursery Road was built in 1980. For almost 50 years, this school has been a place where children have learned, created, performed, discovered their talents and grown into who they were meant to be. And now, we get to prepare it for the next 50 years. I am so grateful to our school board, our district and our community for making this commitment in Nursery Road. These new classroom spaces are an investment in our teachers and, ultimately, in every child who will walk through our doors.”

Nursery Road Elementary School-Arts Magnet is the only elementary school in Lexington-Richland School District Five to offer media, visual and performing arts with an extended arts rotation as well as arts integration in the general education classroom.

“This is an exciting milestone for Nursery Road Elementary and for our entire School District Five community,” said Akil E. Ross Sr., superintendent of Lexington-Richland School District Five. “This project represents exactly what we envisioned when our community supported the bond referendum — investing in learning environments that give our students and teachers the space and resources they need to thrive. By transforming these pods into dedicated classrooms, we are creating more purposeful instructional spaces while also making thoughtful use of an existing facility. We are grateful to our community for believing in our students and supporting these investments in their future.”