La Cueva High renovation
Makeover will upgrade gymnasium facilities, add special education wing
La Cueva High is getting a makeover, adding a new special education wing and upgrading aging gym facilities.
La Cueva High is getting a makeover, adding a new special education wing and upgrading aging gym facilities.
Albuquerque Public Schools administrators joined students Tuesday to break ground for the $10.4 million project, funded by bond and mill levy money.
Principal Dana Lee said the 30-year-old Northeast Heights school is due for renovations.
“This is our first major upgrade in all of that time, so we are very excited for that,” she added.
APS began planning the project in 2012, Lee said, and taxpayers made it possible by approving the $575 million bond and mill levy last year.
The major addition — a new Special Needs Intensive Support Space — will have nine classrooms, including facilities for physical therapy, life skills training and sensory stimulation.
At 26,407 square feet, it will be able to accommodate roughly 50 kids, according to Stephanie Fascitelli, a district principal support administrator over special education.
Fascitelli hopes the new wing will be a warm, welcoming place for students.
“The most important thing is that inclusive atmosphere,” she said. “La Cueva is famous for the programs they have that include students.”
La Cueva’s athletes are also benefitting from the project, with upgraded locker rooms and a new multipurpose space and weight room.
Lauren Hewitt, a senior and the dance team captain, said she is thrilled the school will have a comfortable practice room, noting that the dance team has been forced to meet at the cafeteria or a school concourse when they couldn’t find a spot in the gym.
“I am very excited to have this addition to La Cueva because I know it will benefit so many students in the years to come,” Hewitt said. The project will be completed in spring 2018. On Tuesday, APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy highlighted the many construction jobs created by school building projects, which benefit the local economy.
APS is the largest driver of construction in Albuquerque, accounting for 65 percent to 85 percent of all building permits in the city and Bernalillo County since 2009, according to an APS analysis of city and county data.
The district employs about 60 people on a typical $10 million project.