By Cindy Adams
A new chapter for students in Grundy, VA and surrounding areas begins this month with the opening of enCircle’s newest Minnick School. Prompted by a request from Buchanan and Dickenson County School Superintendents, the Minnick School will answer a need in those two areas as well as in nearby Tazewell County.
Prior to Minnick’s opening, some of Buchanan County students were forced to travel almost two hours to receive services. On the far eastern side of Dickenson County, some students were traveling for over an hour. This new Minnick School will drastically cut transportation time, which contributes to problematic anxiety, particularly for these students.
In step with Minnick’s mission to go where there is a need, this school helps restore hope in an area where floods have ravaged the landscape over the last couple of years, displacing families, eliminating jobs, and creating financial difficulties.
Grundy Minnick will open with three students and two teachers but is expected to grow quickly. It will serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
"This school is a bit different from other Minnick Schools in terms of its size, but these small schools in rural areas are so important," said Greg Mullins, Assistant Director of Program Development. "The size does not diminish the level of impact Grundy Minnick will make on the children and their families."
Buchanan and Dickenson County Administrators, Superintendents and Board of Supervisors have been gracious in their support of this initiative. They have provided a manageable lease in Buchanan County’s former GIS mapping office, and the Director of Facilities and Maintenances has been a ready resource on the facility and its infrastructure as it is prepared to receive children.
Remodeling, creating handicapped accessibility, updating the heating system, securing furniture, obtaining a certificate of occupancy, arranging for food services, and getting approval from the Virginia Department of Education are among the many steps taken to make this school possible. Area public school special education directors have visited the location and are in full support. The people involved and the partnerships formed are deeply vested in helping ensure equitable access to education for the area’s children.
"Our goal is to work alongside public schools to help students reach their full potential in an academic setting," said Mullins. "When localities reach out to us and express a need for Minnick, we will explore the possibility."
EnCircle is poised to open another Minnick School this summer in Lynchburg, Virginia.
