Community Outreach, Education in Future for Former High School
The term “communiversity” is being used to describe the future of an innovative school that blends the Paint Rock Valley community and Alabama A&M University. Closed in 2018, the former Paint Rock Valley High School building will eventually house educational outreach programs offered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, also known as ACES.
“We look for those small communities where it’s very hard for them to participate in programs, especially if they are offered far away from those small communities,” says Majed Dweik, vice president of research and economic development at Alabama A&M University. “Being in that community and having that physical presence, it will allow us to have better interaction with that small community, so they don’t feel they’re lost or forgotten.”
Last year, the Jackson County Board of Education transferred ownership of the historic Paint Rock Valley High School to AAMU. It was one of the largest nonmonetary gifts in the university’s history.
Joining Forces
Plans for the campus are part of the Paint Rock Valley Collaboration Project, a joint effort between the Jackson County Board of Education, AAMU and ACES, along with the nearby Graham Farm and Nature Center, the Jackson County Commission and Singing River Trails.
Dweik envisions a future at Paint Rock Valley High School that includes extension programs offered by ACES on behalf of the state’s 2 land-grant universities, AAMU and Auburn University. Such programs might include youth outreach, small business and community development as well as forestry and agricultural research, he says.“Paint Rock really is a special site. It is special to the community,” Dweik says.
Paint Rock Valley High School opened in 1935, built with stones carried to the construction site by residents wanting more opportunities for the children in the region. When the school closed in 2018, it was serving 73 students in prekindergarten through 12th grades.
Taylor Myers is the new facilities and operations coordinator for the Paint Rock Valley center. Having studied fruit and vegetable production at Auburn University, Myers lived in the Paint Rock Valley area while doing research for his master’s degree in sustainable communities. With his background in small-market farming, Myers hopes the facility can promote urban agriculture and market-style farming through education as well as demonstration.
“There’s just an amazing opportunity here for Alabama A&M, the extension and for the community,” he says.
Breathing New Life Into Old Buildings
Myers is excited the former school campus has a future, and the surrounding community will be able to use the historic school building. He will interview people in the community to gather history about the school and the Paint Rock Valley area.
“I think the community is highly invested,” Myers says. “Alabama A&M is choosing to invest in this community and invest in this facility.”
The timeframe for opening the center depends on when renovations can be completed to bring the buildings into compliance with current codes. Along with the original main school building, other buildings housed the school’s gym and vocational programs. The school’s library, built in the 1990s, could be the first to reopen as it is the newest building on the 8-acre campus.
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Graham Farm and Nature Center is 2 miles from the Paint Rock Valley campus. Nita Graham Head, the previous owner of Graham Farm who donated the property to ACES, was a graduate of Paint Rock Valley High School.
Themika Sims, director of Graham Farm, says the 2 entities will work in tandem on programs for the community, the region and the state. The Paint Rock community’s involvement in the facility is just as important as the collaboration between the other parties, he says.
“What we’re doing now is researching what schools at Alabama A&M are interested in bringing their programs there,” Sims says. “We know for certain that forestry is interested, because one of the reasons that this happened is because of the location of the school to the Graham Farm and Nature Center.”
Jackson County Board of Education President Chad Gorham is also excited about the possibilities for Paint Rock Valley and for students from Jackson County and beyond to experience the facility. The school board, Gorham says, is thankful that the history and legacy of Paint Rock Valley High School will live on.
“Paint Rock Valley is such a special area full of beautiful and unique plants, animals and vegetation,” Gorham says. “Members of the Jackson County Board of Education hope that Paint Rock Valley Communiversity becomes a destination for learning and exploring for students and citizens all across Alabama.”