Triway’s new state-of-the-art school is up and running
Triway High School Principal Chris Sieber chats with students in the atrium at the district’s new high school.
It doesn’t have The Pit, but it’s far from the pits.
Students at Triway are raving about their new school, about half of which opened to start the new year. Students in sixth grade through 12th grade have been attending classes in the district’s new 250,000-square-foot facility. Preschoolers and grade-schoolers will start attending next school year.
Funding for construction was helped by a 1% tax approved five years ago. The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission paid for one-third of the approximately $75 million cost.
The new school is as state of the art as one can be, with upgrades always coming along at breakneck pace.
“This place is really cool,” said senior Ava Gaffey, a 3.8 student, president of Triway’s National Honor Society and a multisport athlete. “I like being here. There’s a lot of freedoms you get with like lunch and in study halls.”
A creative use of space that gives students more choices of where to eat or study, as Gaffey alluded, is among the favorite features of anyone you ask. Café-like settings allow students a variety of places to enjoy their lunches, rather than a typical cafeteria. Other various seating areas throughout the building allow for expansion of learning areas.
One feature is garage door-style classroom exteriors with one- or two-way windows. What once would have been walls now are doors that slide open to increase a classroom’s size by nearly 50%.
“I love sitting in class and being able to go into the extended learning areas or eating lunch and being able to sit in different spots with my friends,” said senior Madelyn Blevens, a 3.8 student, president of Student Council, NHS member, choir and theater performer, and cheerleader. “There’s lots of different opportunities here.”
Most of these kids grew up in Triway’s old facilities, so one might think there would be some nostalgic feelings for the former schools.
Blevens said any longing for the past was quickly extinguished by the move into the future.
“This place is great,” she said. “In elementary we were already talking about moving into this building and the whole process. Now we’re here, and for me, the stage is so gorgeous. I’m so excited about being able to perform there and just be able to use all the facilities.”
If there was anything about the move the students and faculty might not have liked, it was its timing. Students began the current school year at the former buildings. With the help of an expanded winter break, they transitioned to the new structure to start 2025.
Even that, though, turned out to be no problem. Everyone followed the plan, many people chipped in and things went about as smoothly as could be hoped.
“We had a number of days that were planned to get ready to move,” said Chris Sieber, high school principal. “We had kids who would stay after to help move things from the other building. The teachers’ last three days before we went on winter break, they had a great opportunity, and they worked very, very hard to get things set up. When Dec. 18 hit, we could go on break. The teachers did an outstanding job.”
The move did create a couple of oddities: Students had two first days of school this year, and upperclassmen had to deal with learning the ins and outs of a new building like they were freshmen again.
“It was a little weird because it feels like a whole ’nother school year,” Gaffey said. “It feels like we came back from summer break. We’d see each other again and be in a whole new building.
“We were able to pick up where we left off. I was more afraid of getting lost. This building is very different from our other one. The teachers were very good about smoothing us into everything.”
The new building features plenty of technological advances, safety features, and all sorts of odds and ends to supplement the learning process.
Senior Ron Bricker said nobody is smarter for attending a new building, but that doesn’t take anything away from its niceness.
“I’d say it’s kind of the same,” said Bricker, a 4.0 student, member of NHS, three-sport athlete and Eagle Scout. “It’s got more stuff to help us with our learning, but I’d say it’s still the teachers that help us the most. The big thing is the quality of everything is a lot better. Like over there (at the old school), half our sinks didn’t work, and over here they’re all working.”
The only thing missing is The Pit. Among the most famous prep basketball venues in Ohio, Triway’s former home could not transition to the new building and has been replaced by a more spacious gym, which can seat nearly 2,000, nearly double what The Pit held.
“I’m going to miss The Pit,” Bricker said. “Everyone knew where it was. People would drive just to come and watch a game there. I like the new gym a lot. It’s a lot more open, and you’re not diving into a side wall when you’re going out of bounds. But The Pit definitely had its mystique.”