A New Space for Our Library: Fall 2024

• Why not use the old Admin Building? The cost of restoring the old Admin Building to code for students was nearly the same as new construction, about three times the cost of this project.  

• What is the environmental impact of this project? One of the main positives of this site selection was the limited impact. The building location does not require any large or significant trees to be removed.

• What about Breezeway, will it go back? The Breezeway will go back to being an open space, but we really like the idea of keeping some books around and creating more soft seating spaces for students and families to gather. 

• What about Big Field?
  The building footprint sits south of the gravel pathway on the edge of the Big Field and extends east towards the picnic tables and grove of trees. Because construction happens within a short timeframe, we don’t anticipate major disruption to use of the Big Field during the school year. When the project is complete, the Big Field will still be large enough for ultimate practice, cross country and the open play that is important to our community.  

• Where will the playground equipment that is in that space go?
  Short term, the equipment will be put in storage. We will determine a place for them as part of larger campus planning.  

• What does this mean for play areas?
  Outdoor play spaces are an important consideration of campus planning. We will look at age-appropriate play spaces across the campus as part of this process. 

• How will privacy and safety be addressed with this building?
  One of the identified security benefits of this building is the additional layer of safety for supervision of the Big Field. This is achieved through the building’s physical barrier from the parking lot to the Big Field as well as placing adults working in the building with a clear sightline to the Big Field. Currently, the path to enter the building will come from the side of Rivers rather than directly from the parking lot giving clear site lines to the librarian for students entering the building. Key cards or key codes will be used to enter the building.  

• Will the building be ADA compliant?
  As part of the pre-construction process, we will set a concrete foundation for the building. The building will be at ground level and will not require stairs for access. Internal spaces are designed for ADA compliance as well. In addition, we are assessing the paths to the building for their accessibility.  

• Is having Summer Camp during construction feasible?
  We plan to have Summer Camp and anticipate minimal disruption to the program. We will get a better understanding as construction nears.  

• Will this impact drop off/pickup?
  One of the main attractions of the modular building is the limited impact of construction. We anticipate a small disruption at Turnaround in the fall. Look for an update from the school as construction progresses.

• We just built the Rivers Building, was this planned?
  In concert with our previous strategic plan (2014-2021), we made the decision to build the Rivers Building with a goal of growing the school’s enrollment to 200 students by 2026. The school overachieved and reached our current enrollment of 218 students, a number that sustains small class sizes while also giving our students incredible resources. The upcoming campus planning process will give us, in our current state, the chance to reevaluate our space needs. 

• Is this a permanent building?
  Yes! The building has a 50+ year lifespan equipped with full heating, cooling and plumbing. The building offers flexibility to change for a different use later. Bassetti has worked with us to keep the building adaptable for future uses (e.g. adding a wall to turn into two classrooms or providing space for future needs).  

• How will the community & kids engage in the building process?
  As we move through the timeline above, we will look for your input and student input in various ways. Please stay tuned in Happenings for updates and invitations to share your thoughts.  

• How will we pay for this building? 
  This project will be funded through a combination of philanthropy, operations and financing. There will be opportunities for the entire community to learn more about the building and how they can get involved as construction nears.

Learn more about our partners 

• The school has partnered with Bassetti Architects to assess our space needs and design solutions that will benefit our school community.  

• Bassetti has contracted with Pacific Mobile, a local modular building production team with offices along the west coast, headquartered in Chehalis, WA.