Demolition begins at Edison High to make room for new art building
The goal is to have the building completed in the next year and fully up and running by the 2026 school year.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's out with the old and in with the new at Edison High School in southwest Fresno.
The school is knocking down several classrooms to make room for a new state-of-the-art two-story building.
Classrooms and labs will sit on 31,000 square feet.
The Career Technology education center will offer classes in biomedicine, engineering, technology, computer science and teaching.
"This is a practical space for kids to practice doing the things they'll actually do as adults in our system. And here on the west side as we are building new buildings and new colleges this is exactly what our kids need in order to be ready to be taking jobs in the new era to come," said Bob Nelson, superintendent of Fresno Unified School District.
CTE classrooms will help serve the 2,500 students on campus, half of which are enrolled in a pathway.
Trustee Keisha Thomas calls this a monumental moment, especially for a community she describes as under-served.
"This will bring equity. It will help them to number one know that they count and then they have Biomedicine pathways. So they know that they're allowed to train right here, become doctors and then come back and teach our kids or become doctors right here in this community," mentioned Keisha.
The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.
The building will include a robotics workshop, a sports medicine lab, and a Collaborative Career Center.
"We're just thankful to have the opportunity to give our kids it helps in every aspect in getting kids happily to school every day. Career Technical education fills that bill, it gives them a reason to come and it gives them camaraderie with fellas that really like the same thing they do," Bob explained.
The goal is to have the building completed in the next year and fully up and running by the 2026 school year, but that deadline could be as soon as next year.
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