School and county leaders today broke ground on a replacement for Davis Elementary School. The new school is being built next to the current Davis Elementary, which opened in 1964 at 415 S. Providence Road in the Midlothian District.
The new Davis Elementary is the first school to be built using a new elementary school prototype for Chesterfield County Public Schools. The two-story building will accommodate up to 1,000 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade; Davis Elementary’s current capacity is 780. Scheduled to open for students in August 2025, the new school is part of a community facilities bond plan approved by Chesterfield County voters. Virginia Public School Authority bonds will cover most of the building’s $51 million cost, supplemented by federal funds from the American Rescue Plan.
The first floor of the 111,500-square-foot school will hold prekindergarten, kindergarten, first grade and special education classrooms, and the second floor will house grades 2-5. Both floors will include conference rooms, teacher workrooms and offices. A gymnatorium, cafeteria, media center, art room, music room and STEAM maker space will be located on the first floor. At the main entrance, the security vestibule will be flanked by administrative offices.
Lisa Hudgins, the Chesterfield County School Board member representing the Midlothian District, spoke at the groundbreaking. She said, “Now is the right time to replace Davis Elementary School with a larger, 21st-century building. Despite renovations and improvements over the decades, it is showing its age. The new building will better reflect the importance our community places on education.”
Also speaking was Dr. Mervin Daugherty, superintendent of Chesterfield County Public Schools. He thanked the School Board and Board of Supervisors for their joint leadership providing top-quality teaching and learning environments, noting, “This is going to be a beautiful building. We’re really excited about how it’s going to help staff, students and the community.”
The largest school system in central Virginia, Chesterfield County Public Schools enrolls more than 64,000 students who attend 67 schools. Click here for more information about Chesterfield County Public Schools. Click here for more information about Davis Elementary School.