Decatur City Schools Opening New Building For Pre-K Students
- kgraber7
- Jul 29, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 30, 2025
July 28, 2025
by Kalee Kniess at WAFF.com
DECATUR, Ala. (WAFF) - It’s almost that time of year again - back to school!
And some of Decatur City Schools’ newest students will have a brand new building to call home this year.
BEST Pre-K, or Building Exceptional Students for Tomorrow, is the newest school in the Decatur City Schools system.
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Pre-K is not new in Decatur; only this building is new. Superintendent Michael Douglas said that there will no longer be Pre-Ks housed in elementary schools. They have been moved to this building.
Douglas said this will not only allow for equal education across the district for all the Pre-K students, but also allow for growth in all DCS elementary schools by freeing up one more classroom space.
“Everything we do here is taken with a long-term approach,” said Douglas.
Douglas adds that Pre-K will now have tailored access to academics, athletics and the arts.
He said this is also an opportunity for teachers to better collaborate now that they are all in the same building.
Indoor play area
“Having a school that is really designed for our Pre-K students, we felt like it would set them up for success. We all know if you can get a kid started in Pre-K, they will be that much further ahead when they start kindergarten,” said Douglas.
Douglas said over 300 Pre-K students will start at BEST this school year.
Representatives from Lathan Architects, Consolidated Construction Company, and Decatur City Schools pictured from left to right: Justin White, Brad Scott, Dustin Free, Rick Lathan, Kathryn Joiner, Denny Hagood.