North Michigan News

An update on the New Horizons construction project was presented at a recent Northwest Education Services Board of Education meeting.

Supervisor Riley Denison gave an update, along with Chief Financial Officer Linda Bielecki. The district touted the construction team, especially with the amount of positive remarks students have made while watching them work.

“They really do take turns because there's only so much window space in that room. So, if you come in, you'll almost always find one kiddo hanging out watching. And I couldn't have asked for a better construction crew,” Denison said at the meeting. “They wave to the kids, they kind of go slow so they can see what they're doing. Whenever they’re in our hallways hooking things up, they're so polite. Every meeting that we have, everyone reminds anyone new at the table that we have a special population. It literally could not go any better.”

New Horizons is an education program for students with cognitive disabilities or impairments. The program teaches skill acquisition and equips students to lead more independent lives, alongside the more traditional academic lessons of literacy, math and other subjects.

The New Horizons building was planned and implemented after a study showed a growing need for more classrooms for the program across several buildings, as well as an expanding number of classrooms for the Bridgeway program, an educational path for students with autism, in a rented space that whose lease will expire in the year 2030.

The new building will alleviate the space issues and improve logistics across numerous programs and buildings.

The construction of the building began in October of 2022 and is right on schedule with the expected timeline.

Phase I of construction is set to be finished in June of 2023, with all construction done by mid-August of 2023. Hallmark Construction is currently doing masonry work and will start with ironwork near the end of January.