Frontier Elementary adds new classrooms, band room, gym

Frontier Elementary students started the school year with more room to learn.

The district added 12 classrooms to its original 10 that were ready for the school year to start. They also added a band room and a gym. The band room recently opened for use and the gym will have its first use with the Christmas concert Dec. 17.

The school has one section of junior kindergarten, two kindergarten, two first grade, one second grade, two third grade, one fourth grade and one fifth grade. Superintendent Jennifer Lowery said that will likely change again next year. The building has some open classrooms this year, but the addition was built with growth in mind. Without the addition, the building would have been overcapacity this school year.

“We would’ve been over full this year,” Lowery said.

With the addition, the district also built a storm shelter, similar to the one they built at Venture Elementary. The walls, ceiling and floor are all concrete. The difference at Frontier is they have windows on the outside walls since the shelter is not in the middle of the building.

The storm shelter area consists of two bathrooms each with adjoining classrooms that adjoin to another classroom.

Lowery noted they have room at Frontier for one more addition of 10-12 classrooms.

“That would max us out at a five section school - five sections of each grade K-5,” Lowery said.

Frontier Elementary principal Barb Hansen said they are using some of the open classrooms as collaboration space and English language learners space.

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