KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Hardin Valley Academy opened a new 43,861 square foot building to serve as a "Freshman Academy" and provide additional administrative area.

Knox County Schools leadership cut the ribbon for the new addition Thursday morning. The first floor is a dedicated "Freshman Academy." The building also includes administrative area, labs for Health Science and STEM Academies, a teacher workroom, a special education suite and a storm shelter.

"It's wonderful to see new facilities come online, but we also shouldn't forget that a building, no matter how nice and how high-quality, is still a building," Knoxville Mayor Glenn Jacobs said. "It's the teachers and the administrators who make our schools great."

Kirk Renegar, executive principal at Hardin Valley Academy, said tha

See Full Page