School and county leaders broke ground Sept. 25 on a replacement for Bensley Elementary School. The new school is being built on the site of the current school, which opened in 1954 at 6600 Strathmore Road in the Bermuda District.
Scheduled to open for students in August 2026, the new school is part of a community facilities bond plan approved by Chesterfield County voters in 2022. Virginia Public School Authority bonds will cover the building’s $52 million budget.
Bensley Elementary students and teachers have moved into the old Falling Creek Middle building on Hopkins Road for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years while their old building is torn down and the new school is built.
The Bensley Elementary community selected the exterior colors of the new two-story building, which was designed using the elementary school prototype for Chesterfield County Public Schools. The new Bensley Elementary will accommodate up to 1,000 students in kindergarten through fifth grade; the old building’s capacity was 575 students.
The first floor of the 111,500-square-foot school will hold younger grades and special education classrooms, and the second floor will house older grades. 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.
Ann Coker, School Board vice chair and representative of the Bermuda District, said, “The new building will better demonstrate the importance our community places on public education. Today’s ceremonial groundbreaking marks not just the beginning of a building project, but also the opening of new opportunities for our children and our community. Of course, we all know that schools are more than bricks and mortar. Schools are where memories are made, friendships are formed, dreams take flight, and futures are built.”
Interim Superintendent John Murray noted that Chesterfield County Public Schools, central Virginia’s largest school system, continues to grow. “Because of outstanding work by our talented employees, Chesterfield County Public Schools is a school division where parents want their children to learn and grow,” Dr. Murray said. “It’s clear that our School Board and Board of Supervisors agree that Chesterfield County must provide top-quality teaching and learning environments to affirm to families that they are making their homes in the right place.”
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 Bensley Elementary School.