THE PROCESS

After APS purchased the MRGC buildings and the adjecant vacant land and MRGC got $3 million in bond money to start building new facilities, MRGC and APS are working together on getting started.

Architect Don Dudley is revising drafts, there is a design committee which has visited other schools. The new drafts should be available by April 2011 to be presented to the public for input. Check back here to learn more and see the finals drafts when they become available.

History

By 2010 all New Mexico Charter Schools will have to own their facilities or be on public land. The Montessori of the Rio Grande is currently renting the property from the former pre-school owners Marie and Leon Fuemmeler. The school has negotiated with the Fuemmelers to buy the property. Albuquerque Public School Board voted on December 17th to approve the purchase of our facility. This will allow us to be in a public facility.

The Friends of the Montessori Foundation and the Governance Council started to explore options on how to raise capital and secure an adjecent property to consider expansion and/or reconstruction of the school. The idea was to have a school that would truly support MRGC's vision "to be an Exemplary Montessori School of Choice". (here you can read about some guidelines for an ideal classroom and site)

Local architect and council member Don Dudley offered advice on how to obtain architectural suggestions for a reconstruction. Then he offered he would do some drawings. He volunteered his time and came up with the archtectural drawings featured here. Engergy efficiency was also a consideration for the plans which include the use of solar energy. The drawings are a starting point to work with. They are not finished plans. There is still room for input from teachers, students, parents and the community to come to the best possible results. The photographic renderings allow to see the spirit of what kind of environment could be created.

The Foundation, the council and Dudley also first explored to work with the existing building structures. But they came to the conclusion that the current facilities have lots of maintenance issues and aren't necessarily worth saving from a historical value point of view.

The new plan would allow reconstruction to be done in phases without disrupting the school work. The first pod of new classroom buildings could be constructed while teaching still takes place in the current rooms. After the first group of students can move, their classrooms can be demolished and the next phase can begin till all new construction is finished.