Newsletters 2019-20 Focus, [2] Fall | Page 6

COLLABORATING FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE When voters approved the Fit for the Future plan in November 2017, construction crews got right to work to build new schools and begin renovations at schools across the Anoka-Hennepin School District. PAGE 6 The new main entrance at Anoka High School will improve safety and security at the school, and a large classroom addition will offer additional space for students and classes. The construction work is expected to be complete on both projects later this fall. A cafeteria expansion at Blaine High School has relieved overcrowding experienced during lunchtime. That project, as well as a classroom addition, were both completed prior to the start of school. Crews continue to work on the new front entrance and main office relocation at Coon Rapids High School. The new entrance will eventually connect to the fieldhouse side of the school. The auditorium expansion at Andover High School was completed in August and the facility was first used to hold a parent meeting for fall activities prior to school starting on Sept. 3. As elementary students returned for school in September, they entered a completed Sunrise Elementary School in Blaine and Brookside Elementary School in Ramsey. Improvement projects at all five traditional high schools also welcomed students. The Fit for the Future plan aims to ensure safe and secure learning environments by removing portable classrooms across the district, constructing additional schools and classroom space, maintaining quality schools at every building in the district, and addressing class sizes at all levels. Work is being coordinated in phases mainly over four years. Project updates Two new elementary schools — Brookside in Ramsey and Sunrise in Blaine — were completed on time and within budget. At Andover High School, phase one work on a two-story classroom addition in front of the school is completed, and the cafeteria expansion on the rear of the building and the second story addition to the auditorium are finished. Phase two construction on the gymnasium and fitness spaces will begin in the spring of 2020, with completion scheduled for the end of the 2020-21 school year. At Anoka High School, phase one work on a new main entry and office area is essentially complete with the classroom addition on the front of the building programmed for completion in September. Phase two work has already begun at the school, which will expand the school’s fieldhouse and cafeteria. Those projects will be complete for the start of the 2020-21 school year. At Blaine High School (BHS), the two-story classroom addition and cafeteria expansion, which were part of phase one work at the school, are finished. Meanwhile, phase two expansion of the fieldhouse and fitness areas, as well as the construction of a new front entry and main office area, will begin in the spring of 2020 with completion set for the start of the 2021-22 school year. At Champlin Park High School, the phase one work on a two-story classroom addition on the west side of the school, the fieldhouse addition on the south side, and the auditorium storage on the east side, are completed. There are no phase two projects at the school. At Coon Rapids High School, phase one work to create a new front entrance with relocation of the main offices is set to be done in October. Meanwhile, phase two work, which will complete the link to the fieldhouse side of the school, add a new fitness center, a new music room, and remodel several classrooms, is set to start in the spring of 2020 with completion in time for the 2021-22 school year. Phase two Construction will begin at both Anoka Middle School for the Arts campuses in the spring of 2020. At Washington, a classroom addition will be constructed, and the school’s gym and cafeteria will be expanded. Fred Moore will also have a classroom addition, and that school will also see the cafeteria expanded and the main office and front entry moved. All of the work will be done for the start of the 2021-22 school year. At Champlin-Brooklyn Park Academy (CBPA), a large classroom addition will begin in the spring of 2020, as well as an expansion to the school’s media center, cafeteria, and gym. This expansion will allow Jackson Middle School to reclaim a number of classrooms that CBPA has been using. All of the work will be done for the start of the 2021-22 school year. River Trail Learning Center at L.O. Jacob will see a large classroom addition constructed, as well as a number of special education improvements. All of the work will be done for the start of the 2021-22 school year. SECURITY, SPACE SAFETY, CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE All district schools will also see a number of science, media center, and special education improvements by the end of the 2022-23 school year as part of the Fit for the Future plan. Construction of the classroom, cafeteria, fieldhouse and fitness expansions are complete at Champlin Park High School. Pictured is a new weight room on the second level of For project updates and additional photos please the fieldhouse addition. Get the latest information regarding the Fit for the Future 2018 through 2021 visit ahschools.us/FitForTheFuture. n construction timeline estimates at: ahschools.us/construction. 2018 2019 Andover High School 2020 2021 Andover High School Anoka High School Anoka Middle School for the Arts Blaine High School STA T RT OF SCHOOL YEAR Blaine High School CBPA/Jackson Middle School Champlin Park High School Coon Rapids High School Coon Rapids High School New elementary school New elementary school River Trail Learning Center All district schools 2022 2023