EL POMAR PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
New DPS Campus Named for Dr. Evie Dennis, Awards for Excellence Selection Commission Chair
DENVER, CO – Denver Public Schools is celebrating the much-anticipated opening of the newly built Evie Garrett Dennis Campus, located in Green Valley Ranch, which at full build-out, will house three schools. This month, two schools will be opening at Evie Dennis – SOAR K-5 Charter School and Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) 6-12 Charter School. SOAR will open with K-2 and DSST will open with 6th grade. At full build-out, Evie Dennis will have approximately 1,700 students.
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Designed to help meet the demands of the rapidly growing Green Valley Ranch area in far northeast Denver, several years ago DPS, in partnership with Oakwood Homes and the Foundation for Educational Excellence, began planning the design of an innovative, state-of-the-art educational facility for students from preschool through high school. The initial four buildings, totaling 190,000 square-feet, are set on a 35-acres campus between Peña Boulevard and Tower Road. The site was intentionally designed to be a shared campus. Named after retired DPS Superintendent Dr. Evie Garrett Dennis—Denver’s first African-American superintendent—the multi-building campus is the first of its kind for the district.
“This is a historic day for Denver Public Schools and the families we serve in the Far Northeast area of Denver, and it’s a privilege to be honoring Evie Dennis, a true hero of mine,” DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said at Friday’s dedication ceremony. “We are excited to add high-quality educational programs in a state-of-the-art facility to meet the growing needs of the district and to better serve our families. We are now more than $70 million under budget and more than a year ahead of schedule, and the savings generated through the bond program will lead to additional improvements throughout the district: a new Stapleton elementary school, a new early childhood center in Far Northeast, and upgraded classroom technology.”
The Evie Dennis Campus has been completed ahead of schedule and approximately $5.8 million under budget. Originally projected to house two schools, savings from the project funded by the voter-approved 2008 Bond Program have allowed for the design and build of a third school – Vista Academy, the district’s second Multiple Pathways Center, which is projected to open in Fall of 2011.
The new campus was intentionally designed to mimic a small college campus, including shared public spaces in the Student Union and new regional sports complex amenities for the district. The total cost of the project was $42.7 million.
“The Evie Dennis campus is an example of Denver Public School’s drive for excellence and puts Denver on a path to have the strongest stem education in an urban district in the country,” said Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien.
A campus focal point on the west plaza is the Legacy Tower – a gift from the project team to the students and staff who work in one of the schools on the campus, to mark their “legacy” and ultimate responsibility to themselves and their community. As students graduate, they will each place a small plaque on the tower to celebrate their accomplishment and claim their legacy as part of the Dennis Campus tradition.
“The innovative campus provides a unique opportunity to change the way we think about teaching and learning spaces,” Boasberg added. “Through intentional design, DPS will be at the forefront as Colorado maps its future as a leader in education reform and in the integration of green technologies into emerging teaching and learning environments.”
Environmentally Sustainable Facility
The design of Evie Dennis Campus allows for a variety of learning environments. Interior spaces are intended to be adaptable for different learning approaches without significant expense. The campus also offers a facility and set of educational programs that provide "lean and green" opportunities for the growth of both students and staff in an environment that enriches their lives beyond just their academic and professional needs. In collaboration with the Governor's Energy Office and other sustainability leaders, the new campus integrates some of the latest environmental systems to reduce the need for energy and other natural resources. The facility incorporates a range of highly sustainable energy and utility reducing features, making it the first Gold LEED certified facility in DPS and expected to be one of the most efficient school facilities in the entire State of Colorado. Geothermal heating and cooling, solar power, extensive daylighting, water conservation, environmentally friendly materials, enhanced indoor air quality, and optimal operational and maintenance practices are among the core strategies used to meet sustainability needs.
The range of sustainability features on this campus, which shall result in two of the four buildings requiring “zero energy”, will significantly reduce district operating costs and will allow funds that would normally go into the operation of buildings toward other, more critical needs across the district.
