Construction is underway for Liberty School’s new building at 3107 Western Ave. in Durango.
“The greatest thing is to have a permanent home,” said Head of School Christian Holmen in a telephone interview. “We’ve had five temporary facilities, and we were founded in 2007.”
Liberty School, which serves dyslexic and intellectually gifted students, would like to have the building completed and ready to move into for the next school year beginning in August 2018, he said.
“It’s an aggressive building schedule, but the weather has cooperated with us this year,” he said. The foundation has been dug, and Holmen expects the big concrete pour to be completed by the end of the month.
The school serves 29 students, and the new school will allow the school to expand to 40 students initially, and eventually to 49 students, he said.
The school is designed to accommodate the school’s unique curriculum – setting aside a significant amount of space in the 7,200-square-foot facility devoted to one-on-one language tutoring. The new building will have 40 spaces devoted to one-on-one, Orton-Gillingham language learning sessions.
“We wanted to keep it simple and efficient with lots of natural light,” Holman said. In addition, the school aimed to have professional, but noninstitutional ambiance to the building, he said.
“We wanted it to feel homey and inviting,” he said.
The design of the school was changed to lower the height of the building’s multipurpose room, to accommodate requests from the neighborhood, Holmen said. The multipurpose room will serve as a gymnasium, art room, auditorium, cafeteria and classroom.
“Exercise is an important part of the curriculum. We exercise every morning, and in winter we need space to do so,” he said.
The school has 15 staff members, most of them Orton-Gillingham language tutors, three classroom teachers and Holmen, who serves as a teacher and as head of the school.
Land was donated for the new school. In addition, Holmen said the school has $1.6 million in donations and pledges for the new building, and First National Bank of Durango has provided $1.6 million in financing for the new building.
“It’s a great location, a magical spot along Junction Creek,” Holmen said. “It’s wooded, and there are places for outdoor classrooms. It’s a wonderful environment for learning and being a kid.”
parmijo@durangoherald.com
If you go
Liberty School plans a student-focused celebration and groundbreaking at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at its new site, 3107 Western Ave. in Durango.
