Colorado District Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New High School

Pueblo School District 60 in Pueblo, Colo., recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its first new high-school facility in about 50 years, according to local news. Pueblo East High School includes amenities like a 1,200-person gym to hold state playoff games, a kitchen for the school’s culinary program, a large auditorium, and more. The school will open its doors to students in fall 2023, local news reports.

“We could never have arrived at this moment without the collaborative spirit that defines District 60 as well as the Pueblo community,” said Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso. “Through a dedicated effort that included stakeholder meetings, planning sessions, town hall forums, and hours of discussion, we arrived at a historic $218-million bond package that, gratefully, passed by a strong margin as the community concurred with the District that a new chapter in educational facilities was ready to be written.”

The Pueblo Chieftain reports that construction began in March 2021 and that the project entailed construction, demolition of the previous facility, and exterior site work. Its total cost came to about $74 million. Funding came from a $218-million bond package passed in 2019 that financed the construction of Pueblo East and four other schools: Pueblo Centennial High School, Nettie S. Freed K–8 Expeditionary School, Franklin School of Innovation, and Sunset Park Elementary School.

In addition to educational amenities, the school boasts gold paint accenting walls, chairs, and floor tiles, as well as a variety of unstructured social spaces for students to gather.

“The best part is seeing the kids, their eyes, their faces and gasps—the genuine gasps that come out of their mouths when they walk into these new spaces,” said Principal Andy Clementi.

The district partnered with MOA Architecture, HGF Architects Inc., and HW Houston Construction for the building’s design and construction, according to local news.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Wenger Names New Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts, Controls

    Wenger Corporation, which provides products and solutions for music and theater education, performing arts and athletic storage, recently announced the hiring of a new Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts and Controls.

  • Montclair State University Debuts New VR Facility

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently announced the completion of a new virtual reality learning facility developed in partnership with Dreamscape Learn, according to a news release. The 2,450-square-foot lab space is inside the College of Communication and Media building and will serve students pursuing careers in digital media, virtual reality, and content creation.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • Georgia State University Opens New Research Tower

    Georgia State University in Atlanta, Ga., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new, nine-story, 155,000-square-foot Research Tower, according to university news. Amenities include academic classrooms, a large lecture space, teaching labs, faculty research space, and the uppermost floors reserved for future expansion.