Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Doors opened Aug. 24 to Camp Lejeune’s newest school, Bitz Intermediate.

Named and remembered by a permanent display in the lobby for Sgt. Michael Bitz of 2nd Assault
Amphibious Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, who was killed in during fighting in Iraq as a part of the Global War on Terrorism.

The 82,000 square foot school will house about 500 students and 45 faculty, five teachers’ aids, a full time nurse, guidance counselor, educational technologist and office staff.

“Our staff is very excited about working together with student’s parents and the community to be able to build the best school we can,” Jane Hoveland, teach and the Chair of the School Improvement Team.

Construction of the new school in conjunction with Johnson Primary School was to replace aging Berkeley Manor, Stone Street and Russell elementary schools dating back as late as 1941.

“The schools were too old and too small to accommodate the technology and group oriented style of education,” said Richard Scroggs, principle of the school.
Containing 23 network ready classrooms and a number of rooms for art, music, physical education, special education and speech education, our school will provide a robust learning environment, said Scroggs.

Classrooms include computer terminals for students and a station for the teacher’s exclusive use that can also load an item from the media room to display to the class without going to the library and it also allows multiple classrooms to watch the same media, said Hoveland.
Also, the school is equipped with one computer lab that can be utilized by all grade levels.

“The technology is totally up to date and it is going to provide us with so many different opportunities to improve the children’s learning, said Hoveland.
Not only are classrooms ‘high tech’ they are environmentally friendly and energy efficient with automatic light switches, power saving lighting and heat saving double pained windows, said Scroggs.

The memory of Sgt. Bitz can get lost in all of the commotion of the new school that is why in the fall we will be bringing his family down to visit, added Scroggs.
For more information about the school, contact the administration office at (910) 451-2575.