On Tuesday afternoon, the Miami Trace Local School District held a ceremony and broke ground on a new wellness center facility. Miami Trace partnered with Equity ECS and SHP Architecture and Design to make this project a reality.

The MT Wellness Center will be located behind the tennis courts adjacent to the visitor bleachers at Tony’s Welding and Fabrication Stadium.

The following is an excerpt from ‘The Panther Post’, a Miami Trace newsletter:

“Crews have arrived and construction has officially begun on Miami Trace’s new Wellness Center! This versatile facility is being funded through Student Wellness Funds and Permanent Improvement Funds, ensuring that our general operating budget remains unaffected.

“The Wellness Center represents our continued investment in the health and well-being of our school community. It will replace the current Learning Center, which houses our alternative school, special education programs, credit flex options, mental health services, and other community-focused initiatives.

“The new facility, expected to be completed by June 2025, will serve as a valuable resource in supporting our school community. We look forward to sharing updates with the community as construction progresses.”

In a segment sent from Miami Trace to SHP and ECS for their publication, it reads, “The modular currently housing the learning center is nearly 25 years old, and we knew when opening our new high school in 2019, that we would need to address this structure soon. The wellness center operations have been a part of our Whole Child Framework focus in our strategic plan for several years. With the legislative change in student wellness funding in October of 2023, this became a financial opportunity to fulfill a district goal. We are excited to continue improvements on the MT Campus that serve our students and families now and into the future.”

MTLSD Superintendent Kim Pittser spoke at the groundbreaking event on Tuesday.

“Today marks a significant moment for the Miami Trace Local School District. We are starting a project that represents the continued mission of the school community — provide opportunities and relationships that cultivate success.

“The Miami Trace Wellness Center will provide these relationships and opportunities well into the future and we are grateful to begin this journey.

“Thank you to our staff members for your dedication, students for your energy and efforts each day, and to our Board of Education for your commitment to providing a quality educational experience for all. We are excited to share that construction crews arrived today and have officially begun work on our new Wellness Center. As a reminder, this project is being funded by Student Wellness Funds and Permanent Improvement Funds, ensuring no impact on our general operating budget. This facility is an important step in enhancing our school community’s health and wellness resources.”

Pittser then thanked several partners:

Integrated Services of Behavior Health (ISBH) – Vanessa Ford

Pickaway Area Recovery Services (PARS) – Kristina Fairchild Higgins

Southern Ohio Ed Service Center (SOESC) – Tara Walker

Scioto Paint Valley (SPV) – Anna Shuler and Cameron Quigley

Fayette County Sheriff’s Office – Vernon Stanforth and Deputy Monty Coe

“The services you all provide are invaluable to our students. Thank you SHP for continuing to design facilities that fit our educational needs on this campus. Thank you ECS for your new partnership and commitment to construct a quality building for our school community.”