By Kyle Backer | AZ Big Media
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Arizona charted a new course to diversify its economy, attracting businesses in the semiconductor, electric vehicle and advanced manufacturing industries. These investments will provide jobs for locals but will also bring new families — and students — to the Grand Canyon State. Fred Bueler, vice president at Chasse Building Team, says that the southwest, northwest and southeast reaches of Greater Phoenix are experiencing the highest rates of growth and seeing an influx of new education facilities coming out of the ground.
“We’ve seen a lot of schools that we’ve built in the Valley in the last three or four years that are already at capacity. They’re now moving onto the next phase where they’re adding additional classrooms,” Bueler explains.
Arizona is also known as a leader in school choice, and Maria Baier, vice president of development at Great Hearts Academies, notes that in the charter’s two-decade history, it has opened 22 schools in the Greater Phoenix.
“Across the network here in Arizona, we have 15,363 students, and we have another 6,789 on waiting lists. As a public charter school, if there’s a seat open, it’s available to any student. In other words, there’s no tuition, there’s no admission requirements, no testing or anything,” Baier says. “We keep trying to find good sites to build in areas where there remains a need. We’re even starting to have preschools at our new campuses because there’s a real deficit of those in the Valley.”
Even though building has progressed at a steady clip throughout the past five years, Bueler notes that population growth projections indicate the continued need for schools in places such as Queen Creek, Buckeye, North Peoria, Goodyear and the Mesa Gateway area.
The construction of new education facilities presents the opportunity for improving learning spaces to foster student development in novel ways, while also prioritizing the safety of everyone on campus.
