Burying electrical lines, installing the AC, putting in the carpet and building a ramp has delayed the opening of the new portables and kept the POST classes temporarily located in the E building and ballroom.
“The portable classrooms were initially expected to be open on the first day of school, but that did not happen,” Dean James Campbell said. “The construction company that builds portables has multiple schools that are getting portables this year as well, which delays our process.”
Additional classrooms and instructors were introduced on campus to prepare for the expected five-year growth in the POST/PACE programs. Eligible students are assigned to either PACE or POST based on their abilities, as POST focuses on life skills and PACE teaches competitive employment for post-secondary students with disabilities.
“The PACE and POST programs are doubling in size this year, which caused a need for additional classroom space,” Assistant Principal Trish Taylor said. “There are not available classrooms on campus, so we used the lot to have space for those students.”
Due to an upcoming Culinary Arts project, POST classes have been moved from the ballroom to an empty classroom in the E building. Until the portables are completed, the POST students and teachers will remain in their temporary classroom. POST instructors Alanda Zionch and Lori South are proceeding with their usual routine while the construction finishes.
“We have tried to keep everything as normal as possible, but it is difficult to keep moving, especially for our POST students,” POST instructor Alanda Zionch said. “We just recently got displaced to the E building, which makes a total of three moves this year.”
Two classrooms are reserved for each program. The PACE classes will remain in B building and POST will transfer to the portables once they are completed.
“The main issue with moving is that even with our planned lessons, all our items are packed and we have to find them,” Zionch said. “After moving again we have had two breakdowns from students; they don’t see the reason to move and it makes it difficult for them to keep doing it.”
Unlike the other secondary CTE programs, the POST/PACE program will continue to enroll during the school year. As students are found eligible to attend they can become a part of the class, which contributes to the rapid growth in these programs.
“There is a lot of transitioning we all have to help with for this movement,” PACE Instructor Starlyn Olson said. “It will be a lot of work and movement to get all of their items unpacked, but I think it is necessary to have a stable classroom for these students.”
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