PUHI — Island School announced the start of phase two of its new classroom building project with a groundbreaking Friday at the site of the new building situated near the school’s soccer fields.
“We are ever so grateful today for our ‘Founding Mothers,’ six of the seven being here today to celebrate Island School’s 45th birthday,” said Kate Conway, head of school.
“They honor us at this groundbreaking as we continue their legacy. Jolly Bodine, Diana Dahl, Peggy Ellenburg, Lindsay Kamm, Rochelle Carter, Denise Kaufman and Merlyn Wenner had a beautiful vision that they invited others to share and build. Now, 45 years later, we are breaking ground to build a beautiful extension of our campus in order to offer more to our students, and to even better prepare them to lead lives of significance.”
Phase two is the start of construction of the two-story structure that will officially start in April of 2022 with an estimated completion date of April 2023.
The two-story building, with six classrooms and a maker space, will be open and ready for students by August 2023.
Island School Board President Cathy Richardson said the building will be named The David Pratt Center, in honor of David Pratt, who besides being a strong supporter of Island School in its growth raised more than $4 million toward the building’s $5.7 million cost.
“Does anyone want the name?” Pratt asked. “It’s available for a million dollars.”
Funding for the building that will add 10,488 square feet of learning space to the campus is provided through grants and donations from foundations, companies and individuals.
Layton Construction Company Inc. has been selected to complete the work on the new classroom building project.
Island School is the only accredited, independent, nonprofit, college-preparatory school on Kaua‘i for pre-kindergarten through high school, according to Island School in a release prepared for the groundbreaking.
Island School has surpassed the 390-student capacity of its current physical plant and has been addressing space constraints with various temporary solutions since 2016.
The construction of the new classroom is a big step toward fulfilling the long-term development plan for Island School’s Puhi campus that calls to serve 500 students.
Construction will enable Island School to quickly implement all the coursework priorities it set in 2016.
These include adding engineering classes, expanding the technology curriculum, adding to a set of certified advanced-placement classes for high-school students, and offer several “deeper-learning” opportunities where students are able to explore, solve, discover and innovate.
The school will also be able to welcome more community groups and more all-island learning teams to its campus. Before COVID-19, a number of different community organizations had the opportunity to use Island School facilities and grounds throughout the year. These included the island-wide college fairs, SAT testing and athletic competitions.
