Officials at Riverview Elementary School are offering students and parents a chance to take a look inside the new facility later this month.

Julia Mashburn, the school’s principal, said they won’t be disappointed.

“It’s not your mama’s elementary school, that’s for sure,” said Mashburn with a laugh. “It’s got the most up-to-date equipment and furnishings, and it really grabs your attention when you walk through the door.”

Those interested in seeing the new building, which is off Dawson Forest Road next to Riverview Middle School, can visit from 3 to 6 p.m. May 18.

An official open house will be scheduled later in the summer, Mashburn said, “But this gives people an opportunity to see the new building before the school year ends.”

Mashburn expects about 325 students to come through the doors at Riverview, the district’s fourth elementary, on the first day of school in August.

Following an April 12 vote by the Dawson County Board of Education, school district zones were redrawn to include Riverview.

The new attendance zones will help relieve overcrowding at Robinson Elementary, the district’s most populous school, according to Superintendent Keith Porter.

Robinson’s current enrollment of 700 students will drop to 535 with the opening of Riverview.

The general look of the new school in southern Dawson will differ from other elementary schools, Mashburn said.

“It will look a little more like our middle schools, in that all of the common areas like the lunchroom, gym and library are more centralized,” she said.

“It’s going to feel different to elementary parents. There are very high ceilings and very wide hallways. But when you think about how traffic is going to move in the building, the design will make it feel not crowded.”

Porter agreed Riverview has “an open feel” to it.

He added that he’s also happy with the amount of natural lighting at the school, which comes from the many large windows inside the facility.

Mashburn is a big fan of the building’s overall design.

“The visibility is incredible,” she said. “I can be on my kindergarten end of the building, and I can look down the hall and see all the way to fifth grade.”