Dear Acera Families and Friends,
I’m excited to share that construction has begun on One Lowell Avenue! With a revised project, now focusing on an internal renovation inside the existing walls, we will bring online ⅔ of this building next year, as four new specialist lab spaces to support and deepen our programs!
What will be in there?
- Woodshop – New freedoms to build more with less worry about noise and dust into the whole school!!
- Physics Lab – Establish and able to Leave Up engaging physics experiments!
- Visual & Fiber Arts Studio!
- Music & Recording Studio – with a green screen!
- All the walls, windows and doors will have special acoustics proofing to enable strong focus and positive learning environment, while also having light and openness pouring in through South facing windows, and into the studios inside.
- Restrooms – for students and staff!
- All while retaining our existing Karate studio tenant, their lease payments, and not having to buy out their lease.
Why is this amazing?
This dramatically improves learning quality. There will be focused spaces without interruptions of kids walking through the Inno Lab and not having sound issues across learning zones or into the whole school from the Inno Lab… And for the first time ever a Physics Lab! Music & Recording Space! And Visual & Fiber Arts Studio! Teachers love to have a space where they can establish an incredible learning climate for kids and be able to leave up long term projects.. This helps with teacher retention and quality projects. This also clears the way for Phase 2 – which will enable us to bring online a theater!
How is this possible?
Thanks to an incredibly generous Acera family who donated $3,000,000 we were able to buy 1 Lowell Avenue without taking on new debt, and that donation pays for most of our Phase 1 renovation project which will bring these new speciality learning spaces online for 2024/25 School Year!
How can you help?
Share the word about Acera far and wide! Invite friends to enroll in our summer camps and after school programs! Invite people to come to an Info Session at Acera – especially girls!
What will Phase 2 bring in the future?
Once we specify what we will do to revamp our current Inno Lab to convert it into a theater and multi-use space, we will define a Phase 2 Capital Campaign (likely next February) to build out the last ⅓ of 1 Lowell Avenue and to adapt the rear of 5 Lowell Ave into a theater & multi-use space!
With gratitude,
Courtney Dickinson
