Making the move

Changes in the Kalispell schools felt districtwide

No school was exempt from the districtwide shuffle in Kalispell this fall. Changes took place in every school, including the district's two alternative programs.

Bridge Academy and Laser Alternative School have moved to the old Linderman School, now dubbed Linderman Educational Center. For nearly four decades, the building housed the Kalispell School District's seventh-graders. Now grades six, seven and eight are at Kalispell Middle School, leaving Linderman open for new uses.

In addition to the alternative schools, the building houses several School District 5 programs: traffic education, Flathead CARE, the Northwest Montana Curriculum Cooperative and special services programs Homebound and Life Skills. Michele Paine, the district's language arts facilitator, has an office there as well.

Bridge Academy moved to Linderman from Gateway West Mall, where it has leased a space for the last five years. Before that, the program was in the basement of the old Courthouse East.

Bridge offers an alternative schedule for students who don't want to attend a regular public high school. Students typically work on one subject at a time; most courses last three weeks.

Some work takes place on computers at the academy. Students are required to put in 12.5 hours on site each week. They also must complete 13 hours of project-based work every week.

Bridge can accommodate as many as 51 students. The program is always full, Director Teri Palmer said, and typically there is a waiting list.

Bridge Academy's previous facility was a large, open room, which made it convenient for monitoring students, Palmer said. But there was limited room for students to work on art projects or other assignments that didn't require computers.

Now students have an entire classroom for those assignments. They may spread out art projects on tables. A TV is set up for courses with required films.

Next door, the old Linderman office has become Bridge Academy's main office. The program also has a lab with a bank of computers against three walls and a library on the fourth. A small room between the lab and the office holds more computers and book shelves with curriculum supplies.

Students enter the academy through a door on the north end of the building. A new glass door separates Bridge from Laser School.

Students and staff are still adjusting to the new setup, Palmer said.

"Was [the old facility] easier to monitor? Yes," she said. "Was it better? No.

"I think it's going to be great."

Kevin Calnan, director of Laser School, is thrilled with his new location. His students occupy the middle of the Linderman building, including the second floor and the gym.

Unlike Bridge Academy, Laser offers a traditional daylong schedule with separate classrooms and teachers. There are six part-time and four full-time teachers in the program.

The school doubled its space in the move, Calnan said. In its previous location, the old Edgerton School building on East Washington Street, the school comprised four classrooms and a gym. Calnan's office was a tiny, windowless closet just inside the front door.

Now Laser has nine classrooms, which means teachers no longer have to share space. The gym is larger and includes an office and small weight room. Calnan's office is twice the size it was in the old building.

For the first time, Laser students have a science lab and can actually do experiments instead of only studying theories. There's a new family and consumer sciences classroom, complete with new stoves, refrigerators and sewing machines.

Art students have a much larger classroom, complete with a kiln and ample storage space. At the old school, Calnan said, art classes took place in a locker room.

Soon the school will have a library - another first in Laser history. An area book club is donating 100 books, Calnan said, and the school hopes to receive more donated books this year.

In addition to the extra classroom space, Calnan is excited about the school's central location.

"We're just delighted with being downtown," he said. "It will be better for the kids."

Laser's parking situation has greatly improved as well. Students and staff have their own parking lot, which leaves the street open for parking in the business district, Calnan said. Most students had to park in the street at the old location.

The old Laser building has been on the market for a little more than a year. It has nearly sold twice, but in both instances the buyers backed out before the deal closed. The buyers each offered the district's $550,000 asking price.

There is "a lot of interest" in the school, District Clerk Todd Watkins said. Currently, there is no formal offer to buy the property.

There is some concern about the building's limited parking, Watkins said, and there are many other properties for sale now.

"It's a timing thing," he said. "But it doesn't cost us a lot to keep it on the books. … We're not in a hurry."

Both alternative schools acquired new phone numbers in the move. Reach Bridge Academy at 751-3990. Call Laser School at 751-4000.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.