HADLEY — A second campus for the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Public Charter School, where kindergarten and first-grade classes will be located, is opening in late August.
Principal Kathleen Wang told school trustees at a meeting Thursday that the 300 Venture Way site will have six new classrooms, all of which are 1,200 square feet to 1,500 square feet. Those are larger than the regular classrooms at the main 317 Russell St. campus.
The relocation of classrooms comes two years after the 80,000-square-foot building, formerly used as offices, was acquired by the school for $7.15 million.
Referred to by school officials in shorthand as “300V,” the building will supplement the remaining elementary, middle and high school classrooms located at “317R.”
In addition to the classrooms, the building at the outset will have three multi-purpose rooms, a fitness room, which will be used by student athletes, and a health office.
Most of the teachers and other staff will remain on site throughout each day, with some specialist educators commuting occasionally between the campuses, which are separated by about 1½ miles.
The move of classroom furniture between the buildings took place on July 17 and July 21. Set up of the classrooms is scheduled for later in August.
The ongoing work to get the building ready has included installing vinyl-coated tiles on the floors, replacing carpets. Construction on the playground and the fence that will surround it is also getting underway.
Executive Director Richard Alcorn said the school is racing to get everything done on time.
The planning for the new school year includes having buses bring students directly to the new campus in the morning, and there is a plan for drop off by families, as well. At the end of the day, the students who rely on school transportation will be shuttled to the main campus.
With six classrooms freed up at 317 Russell, already four will be used for high school classes, with another for special education. “They were pretty crammed in the existing space,” Wang said.
The projected enrollment at the school is 647, according to information provided to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and will include a new ninth-grade cohort.
Also new this year is the addition of a fifth bus to get students to school and a second stop in Chicopee, at the Price Rite Marketplace plaza on Memorial Drive. The idea for this is to offer more support to students who come to the school from more urban areas.
