{"id":10776,"date":"2026-04-07T14:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/?p=10776"},"modified":"2026-04-07T14:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:48:10","slug":"benjamin-martin-elementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/","title":{"rendered":"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><iframe title=\"2026 Benjamin Martin Elem NC\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1177392502?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n<p>At Benjamin J. Martin Elementary School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, education is built on a legacy of service, resilience, and community. The school is named after Benjamin Joseph Martin Sr., a decorated World War II veteran who later spent 34 years serving Cumberland County Schools as a teacher and administrator. His dedication to students continues to inspire the school today.<\/p>\r\n<p>In 2011, an EF-3 tornado severely damaged the campus, destroying roofs, windows, and classrooms. Students finished the school year in temporary locations while the community worked to rebuild. Despite the devastation, the Ben Martin community showed remarkable resilience, restoring the campus and strengthening its programs.<\/p>\r\n<p>In September 2025, the school celebrated a new milestone with the unveiling of a redesigned library. Created in partnership with Smith System, the updated space was designed to support modern learning and a strong culture of literacy.<\/p>\r\n<p>Students, teachers, and families played an active role in reimagining the library, helping shape a space that reflects the needs of the entire school community. Designed for flexibility, the new library supports a wide range of learning experiences throughout the day.<\/p>\r\n<p>The new library features flexible furniture, collaborative learning zones, creative spaces for hands-on exploration, and comfortable reading areas that encourage a love of books. Students and staff even helped design the space through a &#8220;renovation dream team.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<p>Today, the library serves as the heart of the school, hosting literacy programs, events like Battle of the Books and the Scripps Spelling Bee, and family reading activities.<\/p>\r\n<p>More than a renovation, the new library represents the school&#8217;s spirit of resilience, collaboration, and commitment to inspiring the next generation of learners.<\/p>\r\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 02\" src=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-02-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 02\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 10 (1)\" src=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-10-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 10 (1)\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 08\" src=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-08-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 08\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 09\" src=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-09-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 09\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 11\" src=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-11-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 11\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 12\" src=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"2026 Ben Martin Pic 12\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" \/><\/figure>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Benjamin J. Martin Elementary\u2019s redesigned library is a powerful example of how resilience, community, and thoughtful design can transform learning. Created in partnership with Smith System, the space supports flexible learning, collaboration, and a strong culture of literacy. More than a renovation, it\u2019s a hub for connection, creativity, and student growth.<a class=\"read-more \" href=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/\" title=\"Read More\"> <span class=\"button default\">Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"read-more \" href=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/\" title=\"Read More\"> <span class=\"button default\">Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":10783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary - Smith System Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how Benjamin J. Martin Elementary transformed its library into a flexible, student-centered space that supports literacy, collaboration, and modern learning.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover how Benjamin J. Martin Elementary transformed its library into a flexible, student-centered space that supports literacy, collaboration, and modern learning.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smith System Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smithsystem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-07T14:48:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jerricah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jerricah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jerricah\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cd063647bcec4329219cc09cecae98cf\"},\"headline\":\"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-07T14:48:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":280,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Customer Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/\",\"name\":\"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary - Smith System Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-07T14:48:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover how Benjamin J. Martin Elementary transformed its library into a flexible, student-centered space that supports literacy, collaboration, and modern learning.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/benjamin-martin-elementary\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smith System Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Smith System Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Square-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Square-Logo.png\",\"width\":100,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Smith System Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/smithsystem\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/smithsystem\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smithsystem.com\\\/smithfiles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cd063647bcec4329219cc09cecae98cf\",\"name\":\"jerricah\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary - Smith System Blog","description":"Discover how Benjamin J. Martin Elementary transformed its library into a flexible, student-centered space that supports literacy, collaboration, and modern learning.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary","og_description":"Discover how Benjamin J. Martin Elementary transformed its library into a flexible, student-centered space that supports literacy, collaboration, and modern learning.","og_url":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/","og_site_name":"Smith System Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smithsystem\/","article_published_time":"2026-04-07T14:48:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"jerricah","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jerricah","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/"},"author":{"name":"jerricah","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#\/schema\/person\/cd063647bcec4329219cc09cecae98cf"},"headline":"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary","datePublished":"2026-04-07T14:48:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/"},"wordCount":280,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Customer Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/","url":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/","name":"New Library Becomes Heart of Learning at Benjamin J. Martin Elementary - Smith System Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-07T14:48:10+00:00","description":"Discover how Benjamin J. Martin Elementary transformed its library into a flexible, student-centered space that supports literacy, collaboration, and modern learning.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/benjamin-martin-elementary\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026-Ben-Martin-Pic-12-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/","name":"Smith System Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#organization","name":"Smith System Blog","url":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Square-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Square-Logo.png","width":100,"height":100,"caption":"Smith System Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smithsystem\/","https:\/\/x.com\/smithsystem"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/#\/schema\/person\/cd063647bcec4329219cc09cecae98cf","name":"jerricah"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10776"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10786,"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10776\/revisions\/10786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithsystem.com\/smithfiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}