Durango School District staff, board members, administration and students gathered Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony for the future Three Springs Elementary School.
“Today we break ground, but what we’re really doing is making a promise,” said Superintendent Karen Cheser. “A promise to the children who will walk these halls, the teachers who will inspire them and the families who will trust us with the most important people in their lives.”
District Chief Operations Officer Chris Coleman said construction on the road leading to the school site is coming along nicely. As of Wednesday, the road, which extends north off Wilson Gulch Drive, appeared as a bumpy dirt track – but it will eventually be paved and will provide access through nearby neighborhoods, he said.
“Another entrance to the Three Springs community is being designed with this build, which is really cool,” he said. “(We’ve) got good work underway on the road construction, and they (construction crews) are going to move right through without disruption.”
Wednesday’s groundbreaking was largely ceremonial, with the real work planned to begin June 1, he said. The construction schedule is expected to extend through December 2027 or January 2028.
“(That) is well ahead of the fall semester,” he said. “That was a bit intentional to allow time for commissioning the building, testing systems, ensuring that everything is operating at performance before moving kids in.”
Florida Mesa Elementary School Principal Andrea Guttormson, who will become the new Three Springs principal when the school opens, said she’s looking forward to the learning opportunities the new school will provide.
“I am really looking forward to … (students) being outside and doing things that incorporate STEM and hands on learning and project-based learning, and just really integrating all of our different disciplines to make learning more fun for kids,” she said. “I think the space will be more conducive to that.”
Guttormson’s daughter, Ovidia, who is in second grade at Florida Mesa, will join Three Spring’s inaugural fifth grade class for the 2028-29 school year.
Several other stakeholders attended the groundbreaking, including members of the architecture, design, construction and project management teams; adjacent property owner Tim Zink; and executive director of the Southern Ute Tribe Growth Fund Shane Seibel.
Cheser said plans for the new school include flexible, dynamic learning spaces and opportunities for collaboration that will “prepare children not just for the next grade level, but for a world that needs people who can think and work together.”
“The Durango School District has always believed that every child – wherever they live, whatever their circumstances – deserves a world-class education,” she said. “Three Springs Elementary is that belief, made concrete.”
Reader Comments