When Fairview Elementary School opened in 1973, kindergarten wasn’t part of the curriculum. So when children age 5 began attending school to learn their 123s the system had to do a bit of math of its own, dividing the school’s classrooms in half to make way for the new students.

Now, 35 years later, a $2.6 million addition will finally provide Fairview with six new classrooms.

Fairview, located behind Smoky Mountain High School, also has experienced change in conjunction with the construction of a new road that funnels traffic out from the two schools onto N.C. 107. The new road has meant the closure of an exit road that serviced only the high school’s senior parking lot and the corralling of busses into a single lot away from other traffic.

“I think that’s been a positive impact,” said Steve Jones, Jackson County Public School System Assistant Superintendent.

The high school just recently saw completion of phase two of a current renovation project, which predominately has involved site preparation for a fine arts center, a second gymnasium and additional ballfields. School system personnel must meet with county commissioners in order to establish a time line for these projects to come to fruition.

The fine arts center will give SMHS theater, choir and band students a place on campus to practice and put on performances, rather than continuing to use facilities located at Western Carolina University.

A new gym will give physical education classes more room for indoors activities on rainy days or during the winter, as well as providing more practice space for sports teams. With two gyms it is anticipated that practices will not run as late as junior varsity and varsity teams can test their skills at the same time. New ballfields will mean that the girls’ softball team can play on the SMHS campus instead of on the field at the Old Webster School.

These need for these new facilities is a result of increased programming and the success of existing programs at the high school — new sports, extra curricular activities and the arts, Jones said. For example the SMHS chorus was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. Such activities not only provide enrichment for the students but for those around them.

“It’s a good community gathering,” Jones said. “It’s a great place for parents to come and see their kids succeed.”