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With a mixture of anticipation and curiosity, parents and students toured the new Hidden Hollow Elementary School in Eagle Mountain during an open house on Friday for their first peek at the new school.
"There are still some finishing touches, but for the most part, the building is done and ready," said Hidden Hollow Elementary Principal Tom Tillman "I think it's really pretty," said kindergartner Cortlyn Wilson.
After a change in building sites, ground was broken for the school last fall and the completed building was turned over to Alpine School District on Aug. 12 with final safety inspections signed off. Sweeping, dusting and assembling furniture for the open house required some last-minute effort on the part of a team of volunteers.
"We had so many volunteers helping last night -- teachers, parents, even administrators from the district. I'm impressed by the effort that everyone has put into bringing everything together at this point," said Tillman.
Built to accommodate around 850 to 900 students, the new school began operation this week with a near-capacity student body of 850.
"We will actually have only two empty classrooms at the start of the year," said Tillman.
Sporting contrasting school colors of yellow and black, Hidden Hollow Elementary students will rally behind a hornet mascot. Students are attending school on a modified extended day schedule with staggered start times. Half of the students go to school from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.; the other half are attending from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The productivity model schedule is designed to maximize both classroom space and group learning times. Tillman characterized the 55 faculty and staff members as an "eclectic mixture," including both the experience of seasoned educators and the innovative ideas of brand new teachers.
Hidden Hollow Elementary, an attractive two-story building, truly fits the image of a neighborhood school with most of the students living within walking distance. Only two busses will be serving the school. Both Eagle Mountain City and the Utah County Sheriff's Office have worked with school administrators to establish a safe walking route for the students.
A temporary route has been approved along the south side of Pony Express Parkway until a permanent asphalt walkway can be installed on the north side of the parkway. Students within the geographical boundaries of the new school formerly attended Pony Express Elementary in Eagle Mountain and Harvest Elementary in Saratoga Springs.
Tillman grew up in Joplin, Missouri and earned both his Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in education with an administrative endorsement from Brigham Young University. He taught fifth-sixth grade science and math at Orem Elementary School and served for seven years as principal at Vineyard Elementary School.
He said that one of his first projects at Hidden Hollow Elementary will be to establish a take-home reading library funded by state trust lands money. Another unique program this year are two small group classes that will provide specialized instruction within the Hidden Hollow Elementary curriculum for autistic students from the Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs and Lehi areas.
"I am very confident that I have a great staff. I'm excited for the kids coming to school on Monday morning," said Tillman. |
