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The demolition of the School of Discovery began on Wednesday.

The demolition of the former Selma City School has been discussed for months to make way for the new School of Discovery Magnet Academy for the Performing Arts.

But the gym and the auditorium of the original SOD will remain.

SCS Superintendent Dr. Zickeyous Byrd said despite having a lot of history in the original SOD it is time to look toward the future.

“As it is often said, sometimes you must revitalize the old to make room for the new,” Byrd said. “In our mission to ReThink, ReIgnite, ReDesign, and Transform, this is another example of our transformational process. We are excited about the future.

“The demolition process is now underway to “transform’ the former Eastside Middle and School of Discovery into a state-of-the-art building. The original gym and auditorium will remain. The rubble will soon be replaced by the “redesigned” School of Discovery Magnet Academy for the Performing Arts! We expect the building project to take about 12-16 months. However, it’s our hope that it can be completed much faster in time for the 2024-2025 academic year.”

The Selma City Schools Facebook page had a mixture of reactions to the demolition.

“We can bring in the new, but can never forget the old school,” Debra Reeves-Howard said.

Before the school became School of the Discovery it was known as Selma Eastside Middle School..

A lot of the comments came from people who remembered their time as students in the halls of Eastside.

“We had Eastside rockin back in the day,” Martha Bolden said.

Added Nikki Robin: “So many middle school memories in this building.”