Pinecrest applies finishing touches

Starting a new school from the ground up is a daunting task, but those at Pinecrest Academy are ready and excited to begin the school year.

Pinecrest Academy will be Lewiston’s first charter school and it’s the first charter school for Pinecrest principal Kathi Keefer, although she has 30 years of experience as an educator in teaching and administrative roles. Keefer recently moved to Lewiston from Ellensburg, Wash., after her husband took a job and she applied for the position at Pinecrest. Now she’s learning along with the others in starting Pinecrest’s first year.

“The learning curve is huge and I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose sometimes, but it’s great learning,” Keefer said. “I love to learn new things and take on new challenges, so it’s been great so far and I look forward to learning lots more as the year progresses.”

Keefer certainly has her work cut out for her, which includes hiring staff, getting curriculum, buying furniture, attending meetings, managing enrollment and renovating facilities. But school is scheduled to start Aug. 23 and teachers will begin training Aug. 14.

“It’s definitely a lot because absolutely everything is happening right now,” Keefer said. “But it’s coming together because we’re seeing lots of progress.”

Pinecrest has 110 students fully registered, with 30 more in the process. Keefer is continuing to spread the word in the community to increase enrollment. That has been a challenge because the school is so new and people have many questions about charter schools.

“That’s been probably our biggest challenge,” Keefer said. “That’s probably true for the first charter school in any community, is just building that trust in the community.”

But Keefer has been a part of parent nights to offer people a chance to answer questions.

Some of that is explaining the STEAM-focused curriculum of the school. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math, and it describes how the school plans to integrate those aspects of learning with Idaho requirements. That means doing project-based learning and hands-on learning with day-to-day instruction. The school will also have various curricula it will use to cover topics that don’t easily fit into STEAM projects so students won’t miss any subjects.

Keefer’s also hoping that the school will be able to get donations or grants to start a robotics program in the first year so the school can have some extracurricular activities.

Of course, the students will need someone to teach them and Keefer has almost all the staff hired, including one teacher for kindergarten through fourth grade, a special education teacher and she’ll soon hire the fifth grade teacher.

Those numbers will make the school fully staffed for current enrollment and if the numbers increase the school will add funds to get additional teachers.

With the all new school and all new staff, some of the training before school starts will also include time for teachers to get to know one another and grow as a team. There will also be a school barbecue July 22 at Airport Park for families to give students the opportunity to meet one another and families to meet the teachers and staff.

Keefer said that teachers are excited to start preparing their classrooms for the new school year, which is still being renovated. Not having a building ready to show people has also made it challenging for families to see the school their child can attend.

But the school will be ready for tours soon. Pinecrest is located at the former Lewiston High School and the Normal Hill Boys and Girls Club at 1212 Ninth Ave. in the octagonal building. Soon signs will be posted on the front showing the home of Pinecrest Academy Lewiston and its mascot, the Eagles.

The school will have a main front office and reception area, remodeled bathrooms, seven classrooms, a special education resource room and a gathering space for projects and group learning. If the school grows out of its building, there’s a building next door it can occupy, which is also where the school will have its cafeteria.

Keefer said that the building needed some technical upgrades to its infrastructure so students could be online, and the eye wash stations were taken out because the building was used as a science lab. But the structure has a good foundation and enough space for the school.

“The classrooms are enormous,” Keefer said. “I never had a classroom that big in all the years I taught. They’re just going to be awesome.”

Keefer also likes the circular building.

“It’s quirky but in the best of ways,” she said.

All the final pieces are falling into place and soon the building will be full of students ready to learn.

“We look forward to this first school year because we know that word of mouth is the very best way to get the word out and those enrollments up,” Keefer said. “(We’re) really looking forward to increasing enrollment even after the school year starts potentially as families start to talk about the great work we’re doing.”

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.