Just four years after opening, leaders at Ivywood Classical Academy in Plymouth Township, Michigan, say the school needs more space.
Hometown Life reports that the charter school plans to break ground this fall on a second building on a 22-acre parcel.
Preliminary site plans and architectural drawings call for a 57,000-square-foot school building with two wings separated by a large courtyard. Each wing will have10 classrooms, with a cafeteria, band room, gymnasium and locker rooms situated on one end of the building and an art lab, science lab and administrative offices on the other end.
A second phase of the project calls for two additional building wings at 31,000 square feet and 33,000 square feet.
In its inaugural year, the school enrolled students in kindergarten through fifth grade and has added a new grade each year.
Tyler Horning, the school’s founder and board president, says when the 2023-24 year begins, the school will have 675 students in kindergarten through ninth grade, and another 300 on a waitlist.
The new building on Ridge Road is expected to open in fall 2024 and will initially house students in grades 7 to 10, with a plan to add a junior and senior class the following two years.
Horning said the school will initially operate both buildings. It hopes eventually to bring all students under the same roof when the second phase of construction is complete.
According to the school's website, the new building will be funded through multiple sources, including fundraising from a school gala, major gifts, foundations, and bond financing.
