New School Will Reflect Navajo Culture

NASCHITTI, N.M. — The new Naschitti Elementary School near Ship Rock, N.M. is on track for a January 2015 opening, making this semester the last Naschitti students will spend in the school’s original building.

At 24,000 square feet, the new 125-student facility will be a vast improvement over the existing school, which currently serves 93 pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students. Despite having a smaller footprint, the L-shaped facility will include a variety of upgrades and amenities, allowing for seven classrooms, a new library, a full kitchen and cafeteria and administrative office space. New heating, cooling and lighting systems will ensure greater energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Adding a second parking area will provide a safer environment for students, separating the school bus pick-up and drop-off areas from general parking. Improvements and renovations were also made to the school’s gymnasium, which is the only part of the existing complex that will survive demolition.

Students and school leaders conducted a traditional Navajo blessing near the site as part of the April 2014 groundbreaking ceremony. “I’m very happy this day is here,” Central Consolidated School District (CCSD) Board President Lupita White said at the event. “These kids deserve something new to treasure and cherish.”

Aspects of Navajo culture were also integrated into the school’s design. For example, an east-facing, hogan-shaped entryway will welcome students, staff and visitors, reflective of traditional Navajo homes. Colors and symbols significant to Navajo culture will also be featured throughout the school’s interior.

Work on the $7.9 million school began in earnest in May 2014. Demolition on the existing facility will begin after the transition to the new building is complete to avoid impacting classes. Demolition is expected to wrap up by spring 2015, and a new baseball field will likely be established on the site.

“This school represents a huge commitment, a big commitment and promise that our district has made to the Naschitti community, to the parents, and to the students – that we care about the students’ education. We’re literally putting our money where our mouth is by building a brand new school,” Board Vice President Matthew Tso said in an article published on the CCSD website.

Superintendent Don Levinski added that the new facility is “a testimony to the Central Consolidated School District’s long-term educational commitment to the Naschitti community, its parents, and their children.”

Flintco Construction, headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., is the construction manager on the project, which was designed by fbt Architects of Albuquerque, N.M.