Changes in North State Schools Have a Positive Impact on Students and Community

There have been significant changes to several schools in the North State over the past year, and a few have more to come. From campus expansions to technological improvements, local schools are adapting to an ever-changing education landscape.

Expanding and improving school campuses can provide students access to better educational facilities, such as classrooms, science labs, and libraries. These facilities can help students learn more effectively and support their overall academic development.

Cottonwood Creek Charter School looks forward to welcoming many community and school events to their new Field House

Local school changes will enhance the community

Schools can also use campus expansion and improvement projects as an opportunity to benefit the local community.

The Field House is the new gymnasium and community event center built on the Cottonwood Creek Charter School campus. Four years ago,  Cottonwood Creek’s School Board began the process of building a school gymnasium that would also serve as a community center and event venue for downtown Cottonwood.

With financing from a USDA Rural Development Loan, the Field House will serve as a resource for various community events and local organizations such as 4-H Groups, Girls Scouts, Cottonwood Little League, Youth Soccer, Cottonwood Fire Department, Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce, and local church groups. Construction on the 12,000-square-foot multipurpose room began in July 2021, with the grand opening held in December, 2022.

School Director Mark Boyle says the motivation for building the Field House was the need for a multipurpose building that would serve the school along with various youth and non-profit organizations in the downtown area. “Our growing charter school has been in need of a school gymnasium for a number of years now,” he says. “The students are so excited to be able to have their own school gymnasium. But also, our school is just as excited to offer our new facility to the community at large.”

New high school and theater for Redding School of the Arts

New high school and theater for Redding School of the Arts

Shasta County’s Redding School of the Arts (RSA) planned expansion would also benefit the local community. Along with adding a high school to the former K-8 charter school, the new campus will include an indoor theater to accommodate around 600. This theater “would be utilized by the school, but also available to rent out to other organizations and schools for their performances,” says Lane Carlson, RSA executive director.

This year and the next year, RSA is enrolling 9th and 10th grades in four modular classrooms just south of the current campus. The new campus will include grades 9-12, with completion slated for the fall of 2024.

RSA’s high school is an early college high school. In partnership with Shasta College, students can be dually enrolled in classes so they earn high school and college credit at the same time.

There are many smaller K-8 charter schools in the area, but most high schools are larger, with grade sizes of up to several hundred students. Carlson says having a “small, in-person high school” will fill a community need and be a good fit for students that thrive in a smaller learning environment.

Butte and Shasta Counties set for campus modernization and expansion

Two districts have started making significant changes to several campuses thanks to the bond funds passed by voters in Butte and Shasta counties in the last several years.

According to Erica Smith, community relations coordinator at Chico Unified School District in Butte County, these projects will improve the experience of thousands of students throughout the district.

Over the last few years, several campuses, including Neal Dow and Shasta Elementary, and Bidwell and Chico Jr. High, have been renovated and modernized with larger spaces and classroom additions, while Marsh Jr. High has added a new multipurpose building and state-of-the-art science building.

Career Technical Education Programs at Chico and Pleasant Valley High Schools

Pleasant Valley recently unveiled its new Medical Pathway/Sports Therapy Classroom, Culinary Arts, and Viking Fire & Fork Learning Facility.

The Culinary Arts Pathway Project at Pleasant Valley High School includes eight industrial cooking stations in the training lab, a video demonstration counter, industrial wait stations, wash stations, and modern training equipment. Smith describes the industrial kitchen lab — The Viking Fire and Fork — as a “restaurant experience” where culinary students will gain the skills to work and manage a real-world restaurant and event dining experience.

Other grant-funded projects at Pleasant Valley High School include a child development classroom, Arts, Media, and Entertainment (AME) laboratory, and upgrades to the Architecture and Manufacturing departments. The existing welding classroom will be modernized, including new  ADA-compliant welding booths to ensure all students can participate in classroom projects.

At Chico High School, the agricultural programs have seen upgrades in the form of a new greenhouse, welding shop extension, and modernized classrooms.

Upgrades coming for Enterprise Elementary district schools

Exciting changes are happening at some elementary schools in the Enterprise district of Shasta County. Shasta Meadows Elementary was recently able to completely remodel the large playground area on campus.

Enterprise Elementary School District Superintendent Heather Armelino says the district “Recognizes that physical play is critical in supporting the social, physical, and cognitive development of children.”

The equipment was designed by a PE teacher to promote gross motor development through play.  It is wheelchair accessible and made with material to protect kids should they fall; and it also uses artificial turf as a base, making it cleaner and safer than the previous playground.

Heather also says there are plans for additional playgrounds at other district school sites. The bond funds the district received have allowed for  much-needed improvements, including a performing arts center at Parsons Jr. High, an expansion of the Boulder Creek gym, a new gym at Mistletoe, and upgrades to ventilation systems in all classrooms. There are further plans to add new TK classrooms and bathroom upgrades at campuses.

Achieve Charter now has a permanent Chico campus

Achieve Charter School now has campuses in both Paradise and Chico. The Chico campus received its permanent occupancy permit from The City of Chico and added a state-of-the-art STEM Lab with esports, robotics, and 3D printers. The Paradise campus added a new playground, is developing a STEM lab and will add 6th grade in the ’23-’24 school year. Both schools have growing enrollment, and the Chico school was just named a California Distinguished School. “We are very proud of the accomplishments made this last year by our staff, students and parents,” says Achieve Charter Schools Executive Director Casey Taylor.

Inspire School of the Arts — hope for the future

Inspire School of the Arts currently shares its campus with Chico High School, teaching students in 25 portable classrooms behind the main campus. Those portables have not been updated since they were built approximately 30 years ago. Leaky roofs, rotting subfloors, and peeling paint are just a few issues the campus has been dealing with.

The school, which boasts a comprehensive academic and rich fine arts program, has had to rely on outside facilities to accommodate its busy performance schedule, and that has been costly and inconvenient.

Principal Becky Brown says that the plans to upgrade the school are currently in a “holding pattern” due to funding shortfalls and are waiting to hear from the district on how to proceed. In the meantime, she is focused on ensuring that students have access to the best education possible with what’s currently available. The ultimate goal for Inspire is to have its own campus with modern facilities to foster educational success.

New campuses in the works for two charter schools

Phoenix Charter Academy, now known as Phoenix Charter Academy College View (PCACV) is a K-12 independent study homeschool charter that recently moved from its central Redding location to north Redding.

Phoenix Charter bought the property just past Simpson University, where Shasta View Drive intersects with College View Drive, in January of 2022 and opened the new campus this past August for the start of the new school year. The school is currently housed in portables while awaiting the construction of the new campus.

Golden Eagle Charter in Mt. Shasta will also be moving from its campus on Mt.Shasta Blvd to a new location on Pine Street, across from Mercy Medical Center. It may be a while, according to director Shelly Blakely, who says they are “two or three years behind schedule” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current school, says Shelly, is too small to accommodate their growing student body. The new campus will be approximately 35,000 square feet and be able to hold 200 students and staff.

These changes indicate a trend in the North State of increasing awareness of the value of education and its role in preparing students for success in the community. These are positive developments that will have long-term benefits for everyone involved.