Making an Impact

10/4/2022

Durango High School announced the start of construction for the new IMPACT Career Center with a groundbreaking ceremony on September 19th. The new center will provide new space for career and technical exploration at the high school. The building, funded by Bond 4A funds, will provide new spaces for CTE classes, breakout spaces, and more. This story is sponsored by Kroegers Ace Hardware and The Norm Phillips Team, at Draper & Kramer Mortgage

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How many people are doing the job they thought they'd be doing while in high school? How many would've liked to have had the opportunity to explore different careers while still in high school? Students at Durango High School will have that kind of opportunity, with the latest Bond Project construction beginning this fall. Students, teachers, staff, and community members gathered on a warm fall day for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Impact Career Center at Durango High School. You're watching the Local News Network, brought to you by Kroegers Ace Hardware and the Norm Phillips Team at Draper and Kramer Mortgage. I'm Wendy Gramm. Settle.

Today, the groundbreaking ceremony was to introduce a new project at Durango High School called the Impact Center. This will be a building that will support career and technical education and career exploration throughout Durango School District, benefiting the students and the community at large.

The Impact Center is the product of combined input from nine our staff, students, and community members to create a building dedicated to career and technical education. The new building will provide space for an expanded wood shop, welding, and other CTE programs, as well as breakout spaces for students to pitch business ideas, and a student-run cafe.

The building is going to have a lot of really great and exciting components to it. It is designed to transform, and so there will be walls that move and open up so that we can create large event spaces for things like Robotics Competition, or maybe an open house for science fair projects, or a range of different ideas. There are many different collaboration spaces scattered throughout for different size groups.

On September 19th, Durango High School played host to a groundbreaking ceremony with songs from the Durango High School Red Pride Marching Band, and speeches from school staff, students, and board members. Huber and alumnus from the class of 2022 participated in the design of the building and emphasized how important a building like Impact will be for students exploring possible careers.

The Impact is built by Durango and for Durango. It really is an intersection between education and the local economy designed to provide students more opportunities, and designed to provide the community with more ways to be prepared in our new society to integrate students and to be industry leaders through engaging students and Youth. Impact really will be representative of the strength of a local community in providing equitable, accessible, and high quality education for the region.

It really is the investment that we're making in our community and our future. And just the gratitude from the board, from the school district for the support of our community. Our community clearly sees that taking some of their hard earned money and putting it towards these sort of public projects for the benefit of our kids, and then by extension the whole of La Plata County.

With a count of three, golden shovels plunged into a ceremonial line of dirt located in the current staff parking lot next to Durango High School. Construction on the Impact Career Center will begin this fall, with a timeline to open for students May, 2023.

It's what's going to help transform how we think about education, and really giving kids opportunities to pursue what they're passionate about. Our superintendent talks frequently about finding your ikigai, which is kind of where everything comes together and you're pursuing something that you're extremely passionate about. And that's what this space does for us. And it helps push us to make sure that we're guiding students in such a way they can pursue that passion.

To learn more about Bond 4A Projects, visit durangoschools.org, and search Bond Project. For more information about the Impact Career Center and to take a virtual tour of the building schematics, visit dhs.durangoschools.org, and search Impact Career Center. Thank you for watching this edition of The Local News Network. I'm Wendy Gramm. Settle.

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