Школа для слабовидящих в Колорадо получила два класса от соседнего округа

Colorado Springs D-11 donates classrooms to Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind The Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind is getting a bit more room to work with. In a swift and unique arrangement, Colorado Springs District 11 has donated two of its modular units to CSDB for its school for the blind. The 20-year-old units will be refurbished and renovated to meet today’s code and become four new classrooms for the school. The exchange comes as the public school district looks to reduce its use of modulars and the statewide school finds itself with capacity challenges. Along with creating new space, the modulars will also allow the blind school to expand its educational offerings to students. “We really spent a lot of time understanding the needs of the blind school and I just think that this is a wonderful opportunity that we’ve been blessed with District 11, timing-wise,” said CSDB Facilities Director Mike Nero. D-11 was first approached about its modular units in April, district capital program manager Jennifer Hotaling said. She explained that capacity reports in recent years found less of a need for current modular units, based on capacity changes at the schools with them and their maintenance costs. The district is currently phasing out the modular units at other schools where they are no longer needed, assessing their values for sale. While it could have sold its two units from Scott Elementary School to CSDB, Hotaling said they decided to donate them since “they’re in a similar struggle as the rest of the districts.” “They saw a need for their students. There’s not enough space to serve them, and they’re also experiencing budget challenges like we are,” she said. “We want to be good partners with our neighbor schools and this seemed like a good opportunity to help one in need.” Each unit is 1,600 square feet and includes piping systems for bathrooms to be installed. Work on installing the units began Aug. 10, with their completion scheduled for November. Enrollment continues to grow Currently housed in the campus’ Adams Hall, the school for the blind hosted roughly 60 students throughout the previous school year and has seen its enrollment grow in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nero said. With a growing student body, limited space and greater specialized needs, the school has shared spaces, including the principal’s office and storage closets, for some students’ lessons while classrooms have also acted as storage and meeting spaces and the school’s auditorium. In addition to the core content taught in all public schools in Colorado, CSDB provides additional instruction for its students. Blind students are taught to read Braille and low-vision students utilize assistive technology daily. This instruction is referred to as a “pullout lesson,” since it’s done outside of the students’ classrooms. Because of the large size of the sessions and the amount of space the braille books and technology take up, two of the new classrooms will be dedicated to these lessons. “If we have a print textbook that’s 300 pages, we’re going to get that in braille. And that comes in 25 volumes, which comes in three large boxes and takes up a lot of space,” said School for the Blind Principal Jonathan Karli. “So, when I’m talking about teaching braille, it’s not just the space for the student and the teacher. It’s for all the materials that go along with that.” All CSBD students are also taught independent life skills, including cooking and cleaning. These lessons require classroom space the blind school currently lacks. To address this, one of the donated units will be converted into an “apartment space” complete with a kitchen, washer and dryer, living room and bedroom for students to utilize. School still needs a renovation While the units will alleviate some of the school’s space challenges, a renovation is still needed. Nero explained that they were able to determine how the new spaces will be used because of an existing facility master plan developed in 2024. In this plan, the West End Hall, which was built in 1931, would get renovated and expanded to house both the school for the blind and the early education center. The master plan estimates this renovation will take three years to complete and cost over $37.5 million. In addition to capacity concerns, the aging building also lacks dedicated classroom spaces for students with additional disabilities, students in different grades and sufficient accessible bathrooms. Karli noted that the school’s other employees, like its psychologist and speech-language pathologist, currently work out of separate buildings. This separation requires additional travel for students that takes away from instructional time and poses greater safety risks during the school day. As a school operated under the state, CSDB receives its funding for capital projects through Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee. The renovation has been passed over in favor of other state capital projects in recent fiscal years, and the school has had to adapt. This year, the committee approved the reallocation of $1.5 million from an existing project for the school for the blind and Nero began exploring modular options with neighboring school districts. When D-11 decided to donate the units from Scott Elementary, it helped facilitate their transfer by disconnecting their utilities, removing some skirting and providing dumpsters to CSDB to remove other materials. The school plans to present the Joint Budget Committee with a scaled-back request to begin the renovation work next spring for a 2030 opening of the new West Hall. “So, they’re here until then and hopefully not much longer,” Nero said of the modulars.