NEWS RELEASE
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dawn Kujawa, (803) 587-5963
COMMUNITY CELEBRATES RIVERBANK ELEMENTARY, LEXINGTON TWO’S NEWEST SCHOOL
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. -- It was a time to celebrate Tuesday, as Riverbank Elementary, Lexington Two’s newest school, was formally dedicated.
Riverbank families, educators, business and community leaders, school board members and others turned out for a reception and guided tours of the two-story, 162,000-square-foot school. Among featured speakers at the event were State Sen. Nikki Setzler, a graduate of Lexington Two’s Brookland-Cayce High, and West Columbia Mayor Bobby Horton, whose children graduated from the same high school.
“This is a special day for me,” said Setzler, whose family has extensive ties to Lexington Two schools -- including a daughter who teaches at Riverbank.
“How lucky we are to live in a community that supports public education,” Setzler added. “We are blessed.”
Riverbank, which opened for the new school year in August, combined BC Grammar No. 1 and Pineview elementaries for an enrollment of just over 1,100 students. The school, at 160 Cougar Drive in West Columbia, is equipped with state-of-the-art safety enhancements, including keyless entry, as well as features like project labs, collaborative learning areas, soaring windows for natural light, energy efficient heating, air and lighting systems, as well as a signature barrel roof. In keeping with the school’s nature theme, a “tree of knowledge” is featured in the terrazzo design on the floors of the main lobby area.
Riverbank is the second of three new Lexington Two schools opening through 2019, part of a $225 million package of improvements approved by Lexington Two voters in 2014. Construction work is under way on the final phase of the project, which includes upgrades to all of the district’s schools serving Cayce, Pine Ridge, South Congaree, Springdale and West Columbia.
“So many people have helped make the vision for Lexington Two schools a reality,” said Lexington Two Superintendent Dr. William James Jr., adding that new and upgraded facilities will offer opportunities for students of today -- and the future.
“It’s a great day for our district.”