Henrico unveils new building for Longan Elementary School
R.C. Longan Elementary School now has a larger and more modern building. But the campus, tucked away from the main roads in a quiet residential neighborhood, still retains its 60-year-old charm.
On Wednesday, Henrico Schools and county officials cut the ribbon for the new two-story building, which sits right next to the original facility and will open to students next week. The sleek, grey and beige building has two long wings with a grass courtyard in between, which can be seen inside through some of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The new facility has several “modern features” such as a sensory room, a classroom dedicated to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics), and common areas for students to gather in the hallways. But just like the original 1965 building, it is a space for “opportunity and genuine connection,” said HCPS Superintendent Amy Cashwell.
“This school is more than brick and mortar. It is a community, a haven, an opportunity for students to build relationships,” she said. “With the original and new buildings standing side-by-side, you can literally see how far we have come over the last 61 years.”
The inside of the new $52-million building for R.C. Longan Elementary School, with a wide main hallway, a library with floor-to-ceiling windows, and both indoor and outdoor common areas. (Liana Hardy/Henrico Citizen)
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of R.C. Longan, the school’s namesake who served for 15 years on Henrico’s Board of Supervisors, also joined the ribbon-cutting to celebrate the “historic” moment. Lindsay Teague Blackwell, Longan’s great-grandchild, even worked as a teacher at Longan from 2015 until 2019.
Jane Longan Caldwell, Longan’s grandchild, said she remembers when they unveiled the original building in 1965.
“We were all here in 1965 for the dedication,” she said. “That it’s honoring our grandfather, still, is very special.”
More changes are on the way this fall, Cashwell said, with the old building set to be demolished to allow for a new playground, track, and expanded parking lot. Longan’s large willow oak tree, which sits right in front of the entrance to the original building, will also be removed to make way for parking, despite many Longan alumni and community members urging HCPS to leave the tree untouched.
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of R.C. Longan celebrate the ribbon-cutting (left) and rising Longan fifth-graders Raihan and Axel (right) show the family members around the new building. (Liana Hardy/Henrico Citizen)
The division is still preparing to remove the tree, said Henrico School Board member Kristi Kinsella (Brookland District) but plans to craft wooden benches from the remnants of the tree that will be placed throughout the campus. Officials also will plant 189 new trees.
“Keeping with the tradition of honoring the past while growing the future, this historic oak tree, unfortunately, could not be saved,” Kinsella said. “[But] repurposing the wood reflects our commitment to sustainability, the environment, and creating new spaces to connect.”
The new $52.4-million building, which was funded by the county's 2022 bond referendum, will expand Longan’s capacity by 250 students. This school year, the facility will be using about 70% of its total capacity (up to 750 students), with no elementary school boundary changes but some added pre-kindergarten classrooms.
The inside of the new facility has wide hallways with high ceilings, an open-concept library with light pouring in from two-story windows, a large second-floor balcony that peers over the main hallway, and both indoor and outdoor “extended learning areas” that teachers can use in place of the traditional classrooms.
The new classroom space for Longan innovative learning coach Mindy Pastuszak (left). Pastuszak said the new space was a big upgrade from her office in the original building, which was about half the size of her current classroom storage closet (right). (Liana Hardy/Henrico Citizen)
Mindy Pastuszak, an innovative learning coach at Longan, said that her new classroom space proved “well worth the wait” of three years of planning and construction. Her new second-floor “innovation lab” includes floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the courtyard, a sizable storage closet, and a hallway common area with couches, which Pastuszak plans to use for her lessons on robots.
The space is a big upgrade from her previous office in the old building, which was only half the size of her current classroom storage closet and had no air conditioning.
The new building is a “worthy investment” in the Longan community, said Principal Nicole Henderson, providing new spaces to celebrate a decades-old tight knit community.
“We are not simply opening a building, we are carrying forward more than six decades of history while creating the next chapter,” she said. “We have the opportunity to honor everything that made the original Longan special, while creating new traditions and possibilities for generations to come.”
Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.
