marble charter school | Building Solutions

Marble , CO
Founded in 1995, the charter school was the 8th charter granted in Colorado. Ms. Updike wrote the charter on behalf of a committed group of parents in Marble who were dedicated to excellence in education – – and avoiding the 3 hour commute on mountain roads for their young children. The school project entailed not only forming a new entity, hiring staff, creating a board and policies, but the first year the school had to acquire a modular while the main building was renovated. Renovations were paid for using a creative mix of gambling revenues for historic renovation, per capita student funding, and zero percent loans – in addition to community fundraising. A second renovation achieved the reinstallation of the historical society museum which had successfully preserved this treasured National Historic Building. Ms. Updike managed the financial aspects of the school, renovation, and financing. The school continues to thrive and grow, proving to be an invaluable community asset. Most major community meetings are held in the school. It has now spawned a pre-school and funded an addition to support its growth using the public bonding capacity of the school district.

The project was awarded State honors for historic preservation…and its students continue to outpace both district and state standards for academic achievement.