DINWIDDIE Contractors are racing against time to put the finishing touches on the new Dinwiddie County High School to be ready for the Aug. 21 opening ceremony.

The public will have a chance to tour the two-story, 223,000-squarefoot school on Aug. 20.

The new high school on Courthouse Road across from the existing high school will be the second school to open in the county this year. Sutherland Elementary School, the county's largest elementary school, opened in January on U.S. 460. It was the first new school for Dinwiddie in 28 years.

When students move into the new high school in September, they'll find taller ceilings in the music room, larger science labs, a bigger cafeteria and a lot more space.

"We were way over capacity," said Barbara Pittman, the school's principal. "We had trailers in the back, and the halls were very, very crowded. It kept getting worse and worse each year, and [students] kind of accepted it because both the middle school and high school were crowded."

Said School Board member William R. Haney: "It's a great addition. It's something we desperately needed for the last few years. It will give us an opportunity to divide our student population in a way that we can be more direct in instruction."

With the opening of the new high school, the county has been able to change the breakdown of the grade levels in each school.

Dinwiddie Middle School will house sixthand seventh-graders. The old high school will become a junior high housing eighthand ninth-graders. The new high school will house grades 10 through 12.

The new school has a capacity of 1,800 students and will open with about 1,200. The additional space will be an advantage in accommodating enrollment increases anticipated with Fort Lee's projected growth and in serving current students, Pittman said.

Students are easier to manage when the school is less crowded, she said. "It's easier for them to get to know one another."

The close proximity of the junior high and the high school also will make it easier to share staff for band, chorus and JROTC, which will be added in 2009, Pittman said. Junior high students will be able to participate in sports and recreational activities at the high school.

The new building maximizes natural lighting with the use of glass and atriums. For energy efficiency, the building has separations between the academic wing and the wing that houses administration, the auditorium, the student cafeteria and other activities. For example, for after-school activities in the auditorium, the rest of the building can be closed off, and heating and air conditioning can be directed just to the areas in use.

School Superintendent Charles Maranzano Jr. said he expects that the new building and academic culture will encourage more students to look beyond the county as they pursue higher education.

"The latest research on teaching and learning suggests that there is a correlation between a spacious building, natural light, and a clean school environment with higher test scores and student performance," he said. "If this is true, the future for Dinwiddie students will clearly point toward more academic success and personal success."