Lafayette welcomes kids to revamped facility

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- On the first day of school Monday, the Lafayette Charter School welcomed students to a renovated and expanded building.

The addition, at 12,000 square feet, doubled the school's size, according to Principal Sheila Howk.

Talk of expansion began about two years ago, in the wake of steadily rising enrollment; construction started last year and was completed in July.

The new building may look like a square on the outside -- but inside, it is what Howk describes as "immaculate" -- with two new classrooms, modern restrooms, a cafeteria, lunchroom and kitchen, and a full-sized gym.

Apart from adding room, the expansion has allowed for space re-organization, Howk explains.

The old gym space was re-worked into a brand-new computer lab and and a "state-of-the-art" music room maintaining the old stage.

Two classrooms were also gained from the old gyms.

"As you walk in, we have a brand new addition on the right and a remodeled section on the left that [preserves] the character of the old building," Howk notes.

On the first day of school, Lafayette boasted an enrollment of 91 kids, in grades K-8, at its main campus, with about a dozen more at a satellite site in a Hutterite colony. This is up from 76 kids last year.

"The central space was compromised even four years ago," notes Howk. "We would have been maxed out at 85 kids. If not for the expansion, we would have had a waiting list."

Kids will be studying in six mixed-age classrooms: grades K-1, 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, and 7-8. That way, students are not constrained by grade level and are offered instruction better tailored to their individual needs, Howk says.

The school has 10 teachers, five support staff and two bus drivers.

The Lafayette Charter school is operated by teachers and parents who provide direct input on instructional delivery.

The school program has a focus on agriculture and technology.