Local charter school expansion slated for completion this fall. Here’s a look at the construction

RIGBY — Months after its groundbreaking, members of Alturas Academy and EastIdahoNews.com toured the future Alturas Academy North on Tuesday afternoon.

Alturas Academy North is the charter school’s third expansion, aiming to serve students from Jefferson, Madison, and Bonneville counties.

EastIdahoNews.com spoke with Executive Director Michelle Ball at the groundbreaking in August. She explained that the new charter school will serve up to 660 students in grades K-8. It’s slated to open this fall.

During the tour, Rob Robinson, project manager for Headwaters Construction, said that the team is looking at early August for completion.

Since Tuesday, two buildings have been erected, with one nearing the halfway point in construction and the other still with its frame exposed.

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Robinson says they’ve benefitted from the unseasonably warm temperatures, allowing Headwaters Construction to keep working without any interruptions.

“(It’s) allowing a lot of work to get done outside the building and inside the building that typically has a fair amount of cost to do in the wintertime,” Robinson said.

His hope is that within the next week, crews can start working on the exterior of the new charter, adding asphalt, curbs, and sidewalks.

Robinson says the exposure of the building’s skeleton is an interesting aspect of construction that’s made it fun and unique to build.

The classroom design is a bit different from traditional schools. It focuses on group collaboration to help students be more socially at ease.

“We wanted those open hallways where we could build those quality spaces, where they could feel that freedom to do that,” Ball said.

The design is more apparent in the second building, designated for grades 7 and 8. It includes a “Maker’s Space” that supports a collaborative approach to learning.

“We are multi-age. We do not believe you categorize kids by grade level. We believe you reach them where they’re at and continue them so we can just soar them on their journey,” Ball said. “It’s a lot of collaboration, a lot of communication, a lot of kids working together to develop those 21st Century skills.”

The 40-year educator has overseen the construction at Alturas since 2017 and he says it’s been a surreal experience.

“I jumped off a cliff, left my teaching career, and now I am here, 10 years later,” says Ball. “Not a journey that I expected, but a journey that has been amazing and challenging.”

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