As a current administrator and former teacher at Flathead High School, I’d like to address several key areas included in the Kalispell schools’ high school bond.
The large lecture hall at Flathead High School is a cavernous, two-story room that can house 100 students in a tiered classroom space in the old university style of giant classrooms. Stadium style seating works for individual, face-the-front, lecture style instruction, but it is hardly conducive to 21st century learning. We know our students need practice collaborating in varied groupings, tackling a range of learning and communication tasks using technology, texts, and other learning tools. The large lecture hall proves to be unusable for this type of learning and instruction. I am excited about the innovative, multiple classrooms that will replace the lecture hall, giving our students much needed space that allows for flexible, 21st century learning.
The old gym, built 80 years ago, is fondly remembered by FHS alum who recall watching basketball games there. It is a place full of history and tradition, yet not conducive to safety and learning for our students today. The old gym is used by physical education classes during every school day, and our sports teams have to practice there because the main gym is not big enough to accommodate all teams. This space is also used by community groups on a regular basis. The old gym is not regulation-sized, the baskets are unsafe, the floor is uneven, the walls are comprised of uneven and crumbling brick, the stairs are steep and narrow, the bathrooms are inadequate, and the handicap accessible ramp is not up to code. Ironically, the small gym was “replaced” by the FHS main gym in the 1950s, but it remained in regular use in each and every decade leading up to the present day. Our students and community groups deserve a real replacement – the auxiliary gym planned in the new bond.
Also included in the high school bond is space for special education students with severe and profound disabilities. The design of Glacier High School included space to house special needs students from both GHS and FHS zones with adequate and comfortable learning facilities for specialized care of students with severe disabilities. Ten-year growth in the school district, however, created overcrowding, and now Flathead High School needs space to house the special needs students who are in the FHS zone. Currently, we do not have adequate facilities for these students at FHS. The new bond includes specialized classroom space for students with disabilities as part of the replacement of the 100-year-old half floor classrooms.
It’s time to say goodbye to the 100-year-old and 80-year-old learning spaces and replace them with well-designed, flexible spaces that can be used for many new generations of Kalispell students. We’d love to give any interested voter a tour of our facilities.