CANTON, GA. – Carroll Daniel Construction joined Cherokee County School District (CCSD) to celebrate a milestone in the construction of the new Free Home Elementary School. Celebrating the placement of the last structural beam, Cherokee County leaders, teachers, and community members gathered to sign the beam, tour the job site, and enjoy lunch together.
“A topping out ceremony celebrates a major milestone for the project, when the highest piece of steel is put in place,” Carroll Daniel Construction Vice President and Division Manager, David Stone, stated in his remarks. “Thank you to all of the men and women working on this project; milestones like this would not be possible without your hard work and dedication.”
“Schools are central to a community’s story,” said Superintendent of Schools Mary Elizabeth Davis. “A facility being solid is really about a community being strong. This is the story of a school at the center of a strong community.”
The topping out ceremony also featured remarks from Carroll Daniel Construction Senior Project Manager Cody Ledford, Kip Stokes from Croft & Associates, School Board Chair Kyla Cromer. Betty Wallace was also in attendance as the oldest living alumna of the school whose connections to it grew over her lifetime to include her husband, who taught there, and her children and grandchildren, who all attended Free Home Elementary School as well.
Built on a 40-acre site, the new ground-up 107,000 SF school will be a state-of-the-art replacement for the existing 1950’s era Free Home Elementary school. The new school will feature expanded corridor learning communities, a multipurpose technology space, extra wide exterior breezeways that double as outdoor classrooms, and an updated cafeteria, gym, media center, art and music classroom, basketball court, and multiple playgrounds by age group. The new Free Home Elementary school scheduled to open in August 2025 and will be able to accommodate up to a total enrollment of 850 students.