Western Academy broke ground on its brick-and-mortar building last month, and construction is well underway. Jagoe Homes officials hope to finish the 1,300-square-foot building in 3 to 4 months.
The building will have two meeting spaces for the scholars along with an office for Executive Director Olga McKissic.
Craig Jagoe said that he and McKissic had talked about the potential of constructing a location for Western Academy for some time.
“With her passion and dedication, we knew we had to be part of it. So we went to Bill [Jagoe], and Bill and Olga had some time together and talked about it and it was just something we knew we had to make happen,” Jagoe said.
The Academy was awarded a $100,000 grant in 2020 from Impact 100; however, due to several circumstances, they were not able to break the ground until recently.
“At that time it was going to be a prefab type of building,” Impact 100 Board Member Jodi Krahwinkel said. “But with the wheels of change and her hard work and teaming up with others, it’s become a solid brick structure to stand the test of time.”
McKissic is very excited about the future of the Academy.
The Academy was named after Western High School, the segregated all-Black high school from the early 1900s to 1962. Western High School’s location was on the corner of Third Street and Elm Street.
Now 60 years later, the Academy will be sitting just two blocks away from its namesake.
McKissic said knowing that she is contributing to the legacy of the Academy, especially in close proximity to the original, is a marvelous feeling.
“We’re going keep it going,” she said. “We’re going to do some things inside the building that is in remembrance of Western High School.”
