With $2.3 million being well spent to reincarnate the old Madison County Middle School building for separate purposes, why not christen the multi-functioning building with a new name too?
Apparently, there’s nothing in the works right now.
Superintendent Dr. Mitch McGhee said there’s no plans to call the new home of Danielsville Elementary grades 4-5, Madison County High School ninth graders and the school system central offices anything other than its various parts.
It’s the “Colt” Academy, it’s the Freshman Academy, it’s the Board of Education offices.
“And that’s all we’re looking at naming it now,” McGhee said.
Now, the renovation of the old MCMS has indeed been done with the intention of giving each of these segments the feeling of independence from the other two. Three separate parts, which happen to be bound by a roof that once covered a middle school.
So maybe incorporating all this under one building name would be counter-productive to this vision of individuality.
But, at the same time, it would be nice — and convenient — to have an all-inclusive term to go with the old MCMS’s address.
Now, educators love to work in acronyms. They really do (see RESA, QBE, CRCT, AYP, ECOT, GHSGT, NAEP, GKAP-R and dozens more).
So surely, we can come up with one to reference this three-headed facility.
Perhaps it can be called something very simple like the Multi-purpose Education Complex, so we can shorten it to “The MEC.”
Or the Madison County Education Facility — McEF.
Here’s one: the Madison County Central Office and Scholastic Annex — McCOSA.
That has a ring to it.
“Please turn-in all forms to the central office at the McCOSA building on Madison Street.”
Nice.
Of course, looking at this from a historical standpoint, if there’s any prominent Madison County citizen who has yet to have a building bear his or her name, here’s a golden opportunity.
The Fill-in-the-blank Memorial Building.
But all naming scenarios aside, it’s nice that the school system has this cost-effective facility.
Madison County school leaders have met three needs (new central offices, expansion of Danielsville Elementary and expansion of the high school) under one roof.
Re-inventing the old middle school saves the taxpayers money and helps insure that Madison County High School and Danielsville Elementary School won’t become overcrowded. And for those central office personnel who have had to operate off of a back porch or inside a closet at the crowded headquarters on Hwy. 29, they’ll finally be afforded the luxury of an office.
So here’s to McCOSA. May its three entities happily co-exist there.
Ben Munro is a reporter for The Madison County Journal.
