The name for the new, consolidated elementary school on base was announced by Michael Gould, Department of Defense Education Activity, New York/Virginia/Puerto Rico district superintendent, during the 2013-2014 Back to School training session on Aug. 14, 2013, at the Quantico Middle/High School.

The inspiration for the school’s name came from the sign at the Marine Corps Base Quantico’s front gate, which reads, “Crossroads of the Marine Corps,” said Gould.

“And the name will be,” Gould paused dramatically before changing the slide and announcing, “Crossroads Elementary School.”

By consolidating the three elementary schools on base, Ashurst, Burrows and Russell, the DODEA will consolidate all the schools resources, said Gould. Specialists will be easily accessible to all teachers; the pool of talent will be more easily accessed; and there will be less disruption due to the age of the building, like power outages.

“These buildings are 40 years old,” said Zach McKissick, district logistics supervisor. “The biggest challenge is electrical.”

The consolidation will also help families with multiple children.

“I recently met a family who had children in all three schools,” said Gould. Having a consolidated school will give families like them one location to drop their students off at, he explained.

“It’s a greater gain for the families,” he added.

Construction on the new school is scheduled to be completed the end of September 2014, but students won’t start moving to the new building until sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas at the earliest, but possibly not until summer 2015 due to funding.

“After construction we still have to put in furniture and the technology,” said Gould.

Which school or schools will make the move first and exactly which staff will be reduced is scheduled to be released later this year. Class sizes will remain the same in the new school with an average of 18 students per teacher for pre-kindergarten through third grade classrooms and 25 students per teacher in fourth and fifth grade classrooms, according to Gould.

First on the chopping block are art, music and physical education teachers, according to Gould.

Correspondent: rebekka.heite@usmc.mil