By Debbie Adams
W.E. Cundiff Elementary School in Vinton celebrated the official opening of the new
administrative wing, cafeteria, and kitchen on Oct. 24— a major milestone in the ongoing
expansion and renovation project, slated to be complete in Fall 2026.
Roanoke County Public Schools leadership gathered with students and staff to celebrate opening of the new wing at Cundiff. Pictured in front are, from left, School Board members David Linden and Tim Greenway, Principal Ashley McCallum, School Superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely, Tammy Shepherd from the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, Deputy School Superintendent Dr. Jamie Soltis, and School Board member Cheryl Facciani.Principal Ashley McCallum welcomed several school and county officials to the event, including
School Superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jamie Soltis, Board of
Supervisors representative Tammy Shepherd, Vinton School Board representative Tim
Greenway, School Board members David Linden and Cheryl Facciani, and RCPS Director of
Facilities and Operations Todd Kageals, along with representatives from general contractor
Branch Builds.
McCallum noted that “schools are the heart of a community.” She thanked the School Board,
Board of Supervisors, and the community for coming together to support the project which will
meet the needs of students “academically, socially, and emotionally.” She recognized the
“students and staff who are the heart of Team Cundiff,” especially the students for whom the
project will “open doors to new possibilities.”
“Your success is our No. 1 priority; you are the future of our community,” she told the entire
student body who had gathered outside with school staff for the festivities.
McCallum commended Branch Builds, the company doing the day-to-day work to make the
project a reality. She noted that she had been a kindergarten student at Cundiff in 1980.
School Superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely said that “it takes lots of people doing lots of hard work”
in thanking Branch and all the other subcontractors.
Vinton School Board representative Tim Greenway also was a student at Cundiff— in the
school’s first third grade class. He noted how difficult it was to stay focused in the distractable
open-concept classroom school. Cundiff and Glen Cove Elementary are said to be the only two
schools in the state still using that design which employs open space and few walls between
classrooms; both are being renovated and adding walls.
Greenway, too, thanked the School Board, Board of Supervisors, and community for supporting
and funding the renovations. He thanked Dr. Nicely for making it a priority on the Capital
Improvements Project list back in 2019.
After the speeches, the school provided a guided tour of the newly opened parts of the building.
RCPS Project Manager Brian Dodson explained that almost everything in the newly opened
wing has been replaced and is up-to-date— from kitchen equipment and seating in the cafeteria
(which was open for lunch for the first time on Oct. 23) to bathrooms actually within the
cafeteria, so teachers don’t have to worry about students wandering the halls. The new kitchen
seats approximately 200 students.
The administrative wing has a new, secure vestibule where visitors check in, brand new offices
for the principal, assistant principal, and School Resource Officer, a conference room with a
huge picture window looking out on Vinton, a counseling suite, a new area for office staff, a new
teacher workroom and equipment, and a large, bright, open clinic. School nurse Julia Webster
says the new space is a big improvement, set up much as a regular doctor’s office reception area
with much more storage for supplies and medication.
its secure check-in vestibule.
Now that the kitchen is finished, the next phase of construction involves the original kitchen on
the opposite end of the building and the original administrative wing which will become new
preschool, kindergarten, and first grade classrooms. Occupational and physical therapy, speech,
and music rooms will be added.
The final phase of construction involves the gym, the new library, and other learning spaces, like
Title I rooms.
