AURORA | Another new school focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics is coming to Aurora.
Construction crews for Aurora Public Schools are breaking ground Wednesday on a new pre-k through eighth grade school on the city’s ever-developing eastern edge. APS officials said in a press release the district will reach out to the local community to determine the school’s name, mascot and colors.
The school will be located near South Powhatan Road and East Ellsworth Avenue in the Harmony subdivision, although roads in the area are still unbuilt. It is scheduled to open in August 2020, financed with voter-approved 2016 bond funds.
The district said the school’s curriculum will “engage students in creative hands-on projects that will prepare them for future STEM careers.”
Superintendent Rico Munn has said Aurora’s eastern side is booming with new subdivisions, bringing more students in need of public school.
Schools in the city’s west are losing students. Factors include a declining birthrate during the 2009 Great Recession that is manifesting today, district officials say. APS enrollment as a whole is beginning a historic decline.
Local school districts and educators have increasingly turned to STEM-based educations and learning through hands-on projects to prepare students for the 21st century economy.
Popular charter school network Denver School of Science and Technology opened its first school in Aurora this month, dubbed Aurora Science and Tech. That school is co-located in the city’s far northwest.