Kalamazoo Public Schools broke ground Tuesday on the new Eastside location of the El Sol bilingual school.
The new 12-acre campus will be funded through a 2022 bond. KPS said it would build the new school in the Vine neighborhood when it asked for the bond. Some residents opposed the move when it was approved in January of last year.
KPS plans to start construction on the $54 million project this fall and open the new El Sol in two years. The new school will also serve pre-school and middle school students. KPS Superintendent Darrin Slade said the new facility will have a larger playground and soccer field as well as more parking.
“We’ll have a big, big, big playground, soccer fields, and the parking will be top of the line, so we’re just excited to come here,” he said. “Also we’re excited that we’re building a new school on the East side of the city. We haven’t done that for many many years, so happy all around about today.”
El Sol is currently housed in a 100-year-old building near Old Central High School. Slade says the district has not determined what will happen to the current school building. He says KPS will involve the community in that decision.
“I think that the community in general understands why this is a good move,” said El Sol Principal Natalie Wilson. “We have to not just look at who we’re currently serving. We have to look at the future for the next 100 years.”
Alex Hernandez and his son Romeo, a third grader at El Sol, attended the groundbreaking. He said he’s excited that Romeo will now be able to continue at El Sol through middle school. Romeo already speaks some Spanish in the home, but Alex wants to make sure he’s fully bilingual.
“I just think it helps out a lot in different ways—work, family, meeting new people, you get to know more about different cultures,” he said. “I just want him to know.”
