The Museum School of Avondale Estates will celebrate its move to a new, permanent home on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m.

Students, parents, faculty, government officials and community supporters will participate in a brief ceremony followed by light refreshments.

Now in its third year, the DeKalb County charter school spent its first two years in modular classrooms on a parking lot owned by Avondale Estates First Baptist Church. This year, the DeKalb Board of Education began leasing the former Forrest Hills Elementary School to The Museum School free of charge.

The Museum School is responsible for renovating and maintaining the campus. The school is in the midst of a 5-year, $3 million capital campaign to fund extensive repairs and improvements. Phase one of the project was completed in August, so students could start the school year in their new schoolhouse.

Phase two of five is expected to begin in the spring.

“Our kids do a lot of hands-on learning, exploration, creating and collaborating, and they now have the space they need to do that,” says Aspen Kron, chair of the school’s governing board. “We are so grateful to DeKalb County for the opportunity to start a new chapter for the former Forrest Hills Elementary School building.”

The Museum School serves 264 students in grades K through 5 and will add a grade each year through eighth grade. As a free, public charter school, The Museum School is funded with tax dollars and operates independently of the local school district, while being held accountable through terms spelled out in a charter approved by the state and local school boards.

The Museum School was founded in 2010 by a group of parents, community members and educators with a curriculum modeled after a magnet school in Tennessee. In 2012, The Museum School’s third graders had the highest science test scores in Georgia.

For more information, visit themuseumschool.org. The school is located at 923 Forrest Blvd. Decatur, GA 30030. 404.289.0320