What's next for NExA?
LOREN BENOIT/Press Carrie Frank, left, and Cindy Inge brainstorm school improvements with their group during an open forum with Coeur d’Alene School District Trustees and Superintendent Steven Cook Thursday at Northwest Expedition Academy.
Hale Fields places a dot next to a school improvement idea during an open forum with Coeur d'Alene School District Trustees and Superintendent Steven Cook Thursday at Northwest Expedition Academy. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Parents wrote down possible ways the Coeur d'Alene School District could improve Northwest Expedition Academy during Thursday's meeting with Coeur d'Alene School District Trustees. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
To renovate, rebuild or relocate?
That is the question for Northwest Expedition Academy (NExA).
About 20 parents met with Coeur d'Alene School District Superintendent Steve Cook, Coeur d'Alene school board trustees Lisa May and Jennfier Brumley, elementary education director Kate Orozco and NExA Principal Bill Rutherford in the school cafeteria Thursday evening to discuss the future of their school.
The building which hosts the project-based learning (PBL)-based NExA is the former Hayden Lake School, completed in 1936, and is sub-standard to modern requirements. It was thought that NExA could possibly move into the new elementary school planned for Prairie Avenue, but that school, expected to be complete in 2020, is already at capacity before it's even open as the population in that school zone continues to explode, which adds another complication to an already complex situation.
Relocating to the new school hasn't been ruled out, but the parents were asked to take a look at all the options and share their ideas if they had any solutions of their own.
"I love this school. I love this community. I have watched my daughter blossom," said NExA mom Stephani Borchert. "My fear is that her brother, who is two years behind her, isn't going to get the same experience. My biggest concern is hanging onto our PBL status."
Zoning, overfilled classrooms, funding, timeline and short-term as well as long-term issues were discussed before the parents broke into groups. In the smaller groups, they brainstormed all the things they would like to see at NExA, whether it is rebuilt on the existing site or moves somewhere else.
Location was a huge concern for just about all the parents in attendance because they don't want their kids to lose the opportunities to go on walking expeditions to places like the nearby fire department or grocery store.
"We're not districted here. We chose to come here because the other school we were districted in wasn't meeting our child's needs," said dad Josh Hix, whose first-grader goes to NExA. "He was welcomed here and is thriving here. I will fight tooth and nail to make sure this project-based learning and this type of facility remains a viable option."
Aside from relocating, NExA possibilities also include a major renovation of the school or a land swap with the city of Hayden that would give NExA space adjacent its present location to build a new school on site.
Like other parents, Hix expressed his concern about the school moving.
"I grew up in a huge city. I saw growth occur when I was growing up. This location, no growth can occur around it. The community is already closed, the environment is closed, it's perfect for this type of learning they're trying to do," he said. "The location is the most important thing to me about being here. Whether they choose to fix the school or build a new school, at this point I'm indifferent."
Data is being collected from the NExA community that will be presented to the school board during the April 1 meeting. No decisions are being made at this time.