Neighbor News
DaVinci Academy Breaks Ground on New School Construction Site, Expands Services and Employment
DaVinci Academy of Arts and Science breaks ground on the site of their new 105,000 square foot school facility in Ham Lake.
HAM LAKE, Minn. – On June 20, 2016, DaVinci Academy of Arts and Science breaks ground on the site of their new 105,000 square foot school facility in Ham Lake, Minnesota.
“This is simply a tremendous step forward for DaVinci Academy and our school community,” Debra Lach Executive Director of DaVinci Academy said. “Years worth of work and increasing demand for enrollment have led to this day.”
During the eight years at the Blaine facility, people took notice of DaVinci Academy’s academic excellence. Applications for enrollment have more than doubled, and waiting lists have grown. For Kindergarten classes alone, the waitlist has been more than 100 students.
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The new school facility offers approximately 60,000 more square feet of space, which eventually will allow the school to serve approximately 600 more students. This space allows for more classrooms, separate facilities for an auditorium, cafeteria, and gym, and space to accommodate more offerings for Gifted and Talented and Special Education students, as well as small group instruction.
“Our new facility in Ham Lake not only gives us the opportunity to serve more students and families, but also allows us to hire more great teachers to our faculty.” Lach said. “As great teaching ignites excellence in our students, DaVinci Academy is dedicated to maintaining our 14:1 student-to-teacher ratio.”
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And as DaVinci Academy grows, so will the City of Ham Lake. By hiring more staff to serve more students, the school is set to become one of the city’s top three largest employers, and the largest non-seasonal employer in the city.
“DaVinci Academy is a tremendous addition to our community,” Mayor Mike Van Kirk said. “A school with their excellent track record of cultivating curiosity in students and their strong school community will only help grow our great City.”
The site of the new school facility is 532 Bunker Lake Boulevard in Ham Lake. Construction for the new facility begins on July 1, 2016. The new school will be open in August of 2017.
