The ISD 728 School Board accepted a committee’s recommendation at a special meeting held Monday, March 27, paving the way for Prairie View Elementary and Middle School in Otsego.
Referred to as the “Otsego E-8 building” since voters approved construction of the district’s newest building in 2014, Prairie View Elementary and Middle School was recommended by a committee of future parents and teachers who will now work with students and families to determine school colors and a mascot for the building, which comes online in August of this year. It is the centerpiece of the $98 million referendum that also includes two auditoriums, activity space and early education spaces, as well as technology improvements district-wide.
“It’s exciting,” said Prairie View principal Kari Sampson. “The name was really going to be inspired by Otsego’s history and its location in our district. There was a lot of feedback, and we felt this name represented the school well.”
ISD 728 surveyed future families and residents within the determined Prairie View Elementary and Middle School boundaries for suggestions on a school name back in February. The committee then chose from a list of potential names, and brought its recommendation to the board back at its March 13, 2017 meeting. The board then handed down its decision on the name at a meeting held at the district office Monday, March 27.
The new school is set to open this fall, with early education classes and kindergarten through sixth grade attending in 2017-2018. It will expand to kindergarten through seventh grade in 2019-2-10, and then add eighth grade in 2019-2020.
Located near the intersection of MacIver Avenue Northeast and 80th Street Northeast in western Otsego, the building will finish at about 124,000 sq. ft. and will have FACS rooms, science labs, industrial technology, art, computer and music rooms, just like middle school buildings in other parts of the district.
It will be the first building in ISD 728 to house early education students as well elementary level and middle level students.
For more information about the school, check under the “Quick Links” heading.