Join Creation Care Pagosa Thursday, June 25, at the Community United Methodist Church, 434 Lewis St., from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
School buildings, particularly public-school buildings, convey a lot about the character of a community. At their best, they show a community’s willingness to work together for the greater good of their children and for future generations of children.
Sierra Grande School District in south central Colorado did just that several years ago by working together to pass a community bond. While being one of the poorest school districts in the state, it knew it needed to stop spending good money after bad on short-term repairs in their failing school building and instead chose to design and build a spectacular PK-12 school building that represents the character of this area.
A keystone of their values that shines through their school building is to be fiscally responsible by incorporating design details that are the most cost-effective over the years, not just at the time of construction. The building, as a result, has a super insulated, high-performance building envelope, while incorporating a brilliant amount of daylighting to enhance the environment of learning for the kids.
“Heart of a Building,” a video documentary series on Rocky Mountain PBS, was able to capture Sierra Grande’s story several years ago in a 30-minute episode, and its story is highly applicable to communities considering remodeling or building new school buildings in Colorado and across the U.S.
Paul Kriescher, executive producer and host of “Heart of a Building,” will joining us to share this episode with the broader Archuleta County community.
Come see and hear the journey of people very much like us from the Sierra Grande School District living in Fort Garland and Blanca, Colo., as well as the surrounding area.
Kriescher will share how Sierra Grande made the decision to finance, design and build this fabulous school that is now a gem in its region.
Join us on Thursday, June 25, at 5:30 p.m. for a potluck dinner and conversation followed by introductions and the airing of the 30-minute episode starting at 6 p.m.
Afterward, Kriescher will lead a question-and-answer discussion about how Sierra Grande’s ideas can apply to the new PK-8 school that Archuleta School District hopes to design and build in the near future.
Kriescher and his wife, Michalina, have lived in Pagosa Springs since 2022 and are passionate about ensuring our children have a high-quality school campus that makes the best use of our tax dollars through energy efficient construction, while also providing a first-rate educational environment.
Everyone is welcome, so please join us.
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