The Bellefonte Area School District held a ribbon-cutting and open house Wednesday for its new $55.3 million elementary school, giving families their first look inside before classes begin Sept. 1.
The 98,000-square-foot school will bring together students and staff from the former Bellefonte and Benner elementary schools. Both schools closed at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Matt Maris, a history teacher in the district and a local historian, helped with the new school's Hall of History. His son, Henry, will be a fifth grader at the school.
"Oh, it's amazing," Maris said. "It's beautiful. It's well-designed and thought out and inspiring. I particularly like the Hall of History."
The building includes a media center, a STEM lab, art and music rooms, an interior courtyard, and dedicated life-skills and emotional-support spaces. The district says it can hold up to 750 students.
The opening comes after more than 15 years of planning. The district began studying its elementary buildings in 2009 and bought land behind Bellefonte Area High School in 2011. The district says the COVID-19 pandemic, higher costs and supply-chain problems delayed the project. Construction on the current building began in 2024.
Maris said he watched the school take shape while working on the history display.
"The way it turned out is more than I could have imagined," Maris said. "A couple of years ago, it was a field. And even seeing the drywall before the paint and everything and just seeing it evolve was amazing every time I came in."
State Rep. Paul Takac, whose district includes Bellefonte, said the school's mix of spaces and resources reflects a broader understanding that students do not all learn the same way.
"Not every kid learns in exactly the same way," Takac said. "Some have more challenges than others, and I think having spaces and resources and the expertise of the educators who are here every single day working with our kids is really important."
For Maris, the opening also means his son will get the unusual experience of starting the school year in a brand-new building.
"He's super excited. Yeah, he's very excited," Maris said. "He knows it's kind of a special opportunity and that I told him it's rare to go to a brand new school and have a dedication like this. And I think he understands that. And he's really excited."
Students will report for their first day at the new Bellefonte Elementary School on Sept. 1.