No post-NExA plans for old Hayden school yet
DEVIN WEEKS/Press Fading blue paint in the shape of Idaho greets those who visit Northwest Expedition Academy, housed in the old Hayden Lake School on Government Way. The Coeur d’Alene School District does not yet have any plans for the site once NExA moves into the new school on Prairie Avenue next year. The entrance to the old Hayden School is seen here amid snow mounds Feb. 20.
It will be the end of yet another era for the old Hayden Lake School building when Northwest Expedition Academy (NExA) moves to its new campus next year.
"We have not determined what will happen with the former Hayden Lake School property after NExA moves out in the summer of 2020," Coeur d'Alene School District communications director Scott Maben said Wednesday. "We will begin the process of evaluating the potential use of the property, or the value of it as a district asset, to make that determination."
Change is no stranger to this space. The present brick building was built in 1936 to replace a two-story structure that was built in 1907. That building replaced one built in 1887 that was originally going to be placed near Bozanta Tavern to the northeast, but wound up at the current site at 9650 N. Government Way.
Like its predecessor, NExA too will experience a change of scenery, but it will be housed in a modern building that will have room for 550 students from NExA and the surrounding neighborhood. Maben said the attendance zone for the new school will be established over the next year.
"The new school on Prairie Avenue will be a neighborhood school with a project-based learning focus," he said. "Families with students at NExA will be grandfathered in to attend in the new location. If they wish to continue to have their children attend the school, they may do so."
Maben said moving NExA to the new school on Prairie gets students out of a substandard building, which the Coeur d'Alene School Board identified as a high priority.
"Secondly, this new school will add about 250 spots for K-5 students, which will help take pressure of surrounding schools in the northern part of the district," he said.
Even with a new elementary school about to open, the school district will be continuing to plan for enrollment growth.
"For the past three years, we have anticipated a need for two new elementary schools to meet the needs of our growing community," Maben said. "We are currently evaluating growth trends and space needs at all levels, from kindergarten through high school."
NExA will still incorporate adventures into its academics when it moves to Prairie.
"The students will continue to go on expeditions outside their building, whether by walking to nearby destinations or taking short bus trips," Maben assured.