HELENA — Following the passage of the Helena Public Schools' $43 million elementary school bond back in September, the community had the opportunity on Wednesday to see designs and plans of the new Kessler Elementary School to replace the outdated and undersized building.
Madelyn Heath reports - watch the video here:
“Helena has already shown that they prioritize education and connection,” Riley Thatcher, the Kessler principal, expressed.
That was on full display as around twenty members of the community gathered in the Kessler gym to learn more about the reimagined school and how it aims to have kids in the building by Fall 2028.
Matt Aune with Mosaic Architecture said, “It really only makes the project better the more we can listen and learn from the community members, the better.”
Architects from Mosaic were selected by the district back in November alongside general contractor Golden Eagle Swank Construction and shared an in-depth look at the future school.
“We reviewed them just a few days ago, and I had staff in tears because they felt heard and seen, and they are seeing their dreams kind of come to life,” Thatcher shared.
The new school will be built next to where Kessler stands today, so as not to impact student day-to-day too much, and it will have 24 classrooms, including two for life skills and two for Kindersprouts.
Architects say hearing what students and staff wanted was important. “Engagement has been incredible,” Aune noted. “They have helped create and influence the design in a huge way, and without them, it would not be the great project it is going to be.”
Some of the key things architects heard were a focus on the surrounding nature, like Spring Meadow Lake and Mount Helena, and inclusion and community spaces. That will come to life with amazing views, environment, and hiking-themed designs, and shared spaces like the library.
“It is about what the building can do right now and what this serves in a hundred years from now, if that’s where we are, and just the flexibility because we really are building for flexibility,” Thatcher said.
The project aims to start moving forward on the ground in late summer and continue to refine budgets with the contractors.
