Charter school opens doors of its new building

Monday evening was “Back to School Night” at Palouse Prairie Charter School, but for many students and parents, it was their first time exploring the school’s new facilities.

Situated on the southern edge of Moscow’s city limits at 406 Powers Lane, the new school building is afforded generous views of the rolling hills and farmland of the Palouse and is within walking distance of Moscow’s coming edible forest park. PPC Executive Director Jeneille Branen said there is a growing body of research indicating that students benefit from direct contact with the natural world, and she’s grateful for the new proximity to local flora and fauna.

“Every day I’m just filled with so much gratitude for the views and the green space that our students are going to experience and the connection to the natural world that they’ll have on a daily basis,” Branen said.

With school starting Wednesday, there was a feeling of anticipation in the air as students and parents shuffled through the new space exploring classrooms and conversing with teachers. Todd Perry, parent to three PPC students, said his children’s excitement grew with each classroom they visited. Noting PPC was recently recognized as one of the top-performing schools in the state, Perry said the new space will help the school build on a well-established tradition of educational success.

“I hate to say it — it’s like a real school now instead of a converted furniture store,” Perry said, referring to PPC’s previous facility. “I don’t like saying that because of how much they were able to do with what they had, but now with the tools they have, I think it’s just going to grow exponentially as far as the kids they can help.”

First-grade teacher Alissa Clemencic said one of the best features of the new space is its location. In their previous location at 1500 S. Levick St., situated along U.S. Highway 95, Clemencic said there were daily safety concerns. She said PPC’s new location is not only isolated from the traffic, but also the noise and poor air quality.

“(It’s nice) even just being able to open a door and have fresh air — before, my emergency exit door went right out on to the highway,” Clemencic said. “I’d open the door, and it would just be truck noises.”

With so many new perks, including Smart Boards in each classroom, large new lockers for students and a climbing wall in the cafeteria, Clemencic said it can be a little overwhelming. After teaching in a crowded, repurposed space, she said even the simple facility improvements like being able to operate her own classroom lights has been a bit of a thrill. Now, she said, the final and ultimate improvement will be to have children learn in and make use of the space.

“That’s what the heart of it is, is the kids,” she said. “To have all of this without them in it is hard, and then once they come in and bring life to it, it’s way better.”

Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.