A Colorado school district's college prep facility is expanding
Cherry Creek School District received a revenue boost when voters approved two bond measures in the 2024 general election. Now, the district says it's committed to taking that money that voters gave it and putting it back into the community in the form of giving the students opportunities for their future.
One of those students is Gavin Polland, a high school junior studying advanced manufacturing at the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus. He thinks he wants to go into the military after high school but also thinks learning how to build things will help him in the future.
"I think it's helped me a lot. I mean, it makes me a more creative person in general, " Polland said. "The dream, I want to make my own home."
He says the advanced manufacturing program has really helped him excel in school, and he thinks one day his younger brother will follow in his footsteps.
If that day comes, Gavin's brother will have even more opportunities than Gavin. That's because the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus is expanding. Thanks to the bond measures approved in this past November, the district broke ground on an expansion of the building and the programs they offer.
The innovation campus currently offers seven career pathways, including advanced manufacturing, transportation and IT & STEAM. Soon, it will add seven more programs and a 500-person events center used to expand the culinary and hospitality pathways. CBS Colorado also previously spoke to students who were embarking on the aviation mechanic pathway offered by CCIC.
Superintendent Christopher Smith says this program, which has been globally recognized for its success, is designed to help students and the community.
"We look around this country, and we're starting to lose opportunities in the construction field, lose opportunities in the medical field, lose a lot in you know tourism and hospitality, " Smith said. "So, this is adding to not only the state of Colorado but also this country, and that makes me proud as well. I'm over the moon because that's my job to make sure that we have pathways for kids."
The expansion project is expected to be finished in eighteen months. Construction will begin soon and manufacturing students like Gavin will be able to learn firsthand how a major construction project is completed. He says he hopes the finished product will help his younger brother in the future.
"I'm super excited to see the new things that they're going to be inviting into the new school," Polland said.
