Southwest Fresno gets first middle school in 35 years

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Southwest Fresno is celebrating its first middle school in 35 years this weekend.

Gaston Middle School, which is located at Church Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, opened its doors to hundreds of students, parents and other community members on Saturday.

The open house offered tours of the campus, which includes a 36-classroom academic wing, a performance stage, a shaded amphitheater and a large gym. It will also house the first Fresno Unified school-based health and wellness center.

On Saturday, Clinica Sierra Vista offered dental and health screenings, plus school immunizations.

"It's been an incredible feeling to share this school with family, about 2,000 maybe more families, students coming to visit the clinic. It's been an incredible feeling. Everyone is excited and owning the school, this is their school," said Gaston Middle School Principal Felicia Quarles Treadwell.

Students in the southwest area have been bussed to four other middle schools for the past three decades.

The new school is named after Fresno Unified's first African-American principal Rutherford "Bud" Gaston, who passed away in 2012.