ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Orangeburg County School District reached a significant milestone Tuesday with the ribbon-cutting of a new addition at William J. Clark Middle School, marking the next step in its plan to consolidate middle schools in the city of Orangeburg.
The new 28,000-square-foot wing features 16 classrooms and two state-of-the-art music rooms, designed to accommodate over 1,000 students. This expansion will needed soon, as students from Robert E. Howard Middle School are set to join William J. Clark next fall.
Dr. Shawn Foster, Superintendent of the Orangeburg County School District, said the addition has been a long time coming.
"When we proposed this project over a year ago it was our goal to be able to bring our students over from Howard to Clark and have one middle school here in Orangeburg proper. Going along with our theme that all means all. Making sure that we can have equity and programming, equity in accessing any level of instruction for all of our students so this is again one step closer to making sure that that big picture of excellence that we’re trying to accomplish in Orangeburg is reached," Foster said.
The merging of the two schools is a historic moment for the district. William J. Clark Middle School Principal Phillip Mickles spoke about the significance of the consolidation.
“There is so much history because when you go back, you’re combining schools that used to be the all-White high school and the all-Black high school and now they’re coming together as one with different ethnicities, different backgrounds coming together, and it just makes for a good opportunity for everyone in Orangeburg County,” Mickles said.
Malik Cunningham, a student at William J. Clark, expressed excitement about the future.
“It’s going to be a good building bringing new students over, people can make new friends, people can make new bonds, and I feel like it’s going to be a good opportunity for William J. Clark,” Cunningham said.
The current Robert E. Howard Middle School will be demolished and replaced with a new, state-of-the-art elementary school to serve students from Brookdale, Mellichamp, and Whittaker Elementary Schools.