SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Amid the Springdale School District's many renovations to campuses across the city, the Central Junior High community commemorated its old building by symbolically turning out its lights one last time.
"It's a moment of reflection, gratitude, and excitement for the journey ahead," said Trent Jones, spokesperson for the district.
The ceremony took place on March 14, from 6-7 p.m. At the event, former teacher Thomas Pittman, shared the legacy of not just the building itself, but those that walked its halls.
"I taught 37 years in this building. Central always felt like a family—the parents, the kids, the admin, the teachers— we just all were close knit. And we all cooperated. It was just easy. It was fun and easy. And when your job is fun and easy, you just don't think it's a job," Pittman said.
However, the former teacher said Central needed something new. "The building's really outdated and I'm excited for Springdale to get such a new facility. It's going to be totally exciting for Springdale Public Schools, the kids to be able to get in the new building, and all the things they'll be able to do," Pittman said.
Current Central Junior High Principal Todd Loftin spoke about how all the teachers and principals before helped develop the positive culture that is still carried on today.
"The culture of excellence that's been built and that our kids carry on is what makes Central special," Loftin said.
And when the students come back from spring break on March 25, they'll walk into a new building.
"My one daughter—our daughter is disabled— loved being here, and still talks about Central as being her school as a 37-year-old. When kids make connections with places and with people and they poured their life into it themselves, that means something," said former principal Darrell Watts.
Former students Leigh Ann Matthews and Brian Shinall went to the ceremony and reflected on their time at Central.
"It is neat. It brings back lots of memories you can, like, remember the faces of people when you walk the halls," Matthews said.
"We appreciate the opportunity to come through tonight and it's neat to see that the City of Springdale and our school systems are doing a great job at handling growth and doing it the right way," Shinall said. "And we appreciate our administrators and we're looking forward to more time in Springdale for sure."
As for Pittman, 37 years in one building is a long time— definitely deserving of a souvenir.
" I am going to get me a brick. I'm gonna take a brick for my souvenir from the oldest part of the building. I'm gonna do that."
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.