PG. 4 GOOD DOGS Inaugural canine festival delights YOUR GUIDE TO COMMUNITY, POLITICS, ARTS AND CULTURE IN NORTH DENVER
Volume 6, Issue 2
November 15, 2024 - December 14, 2024
Arrupe Jesuit breaks ground on campus expansion project
City mulls Remington for migrant shelter BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Students from Arrupe Jesuit High School stand Oct. 23 in front of the site of this school’s expansion and renovation project. BY ERIC HEINZ
Since opening in 2003 with a student body of about 60 students, Arrupe Jesuit High School has been looking to expand its campus and welcome more children to its educational opportunities. About 20 years later, the school now has more than 400 students and has grown some of its major programs, but Arrupe Jesuit isn’t stopping there. With new expansion and renovation projects underway, the school hopes to grow its enrollment to more than 500 in the next two years. “I propose to you this morning that Arrupe Jesuit High School is the living, breathing, ever-expanding example of the difference that hard work, informed by an Ignatian worldview, can make in the life of a community,” said Michael O’Hagan, president of Arrupe Jesuit, during an Oct. 23 groundbreaking ceremony for the project. Arrupe Jesuit is building a 25,000-squarefoot addition to the north of the existing school, and they will relocate the school’s main entrance to improve school security POSTAL Customer
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and enhance the operational efficiency. The extension includes a new gymnasium, locker rooms, an expanded fitness center and student support offices. Renovations to the existing structure will include adding at least 8,400 square feet for classrooms and student activities. The school also wants to expand the teacher workroom and cafeteria, in addition to other projects that are intended to increase student enrollment. Arrupe Jesuit is spending $27.6 million on its expansion and another $13.2 million to renovate the existing school. During the groundbreaking ceremony, Craig Zoellner, chair of the Arrupe Jesuit board of trustees, said the projects are important to keep the school not just growing but functioning efficiently. “I’m sure you’ve all heard through the course of this campaign about the shortcomings of the school and its current state, which are numerous,” Zoellner said. “Classes in stairwells, changing for athletic events in locker rooms, substandard science labs, no place for students to gather. So this project is really about needs, not wants. The students, through their achievements over these last 20 years, have proven that they deserve more and they want more. The faculty deserves more and needs more.” O’Hagan said the school will lay the foundations for the new science wing and the gymnasium with the expectation of completing the buildings by
PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ
Christmas of next year. After the school occupies the new addition, work will begin on the renovation of the current building, which is expected to be completed in September 2026. The project is part of the school’s “Lead the Way” campaign that was initiated in 2018 by its board of trustees and school leadership, which gathered input from focus groups composed of staff and faculty, students, parents, alumni and donors, according to documents from Arrupe Jesuit. Denver City Council President Amanda P. Sandoval also attended the groundbreaking ceremony and offered a few stories of her own education experiences. Sandoval also said Arrupe Jesuit is an important institution in the North Denver community because it helps many Latino students. “Maybe (one of Arrupe’s students) will become a councilperson,” Sandoval said. “Maybe one of them will be the mayor. Maybe one of them will be our first Latino president. Let’s imagine a world where Arrupe thrives, where these students thrive and are able to give back. And I ask you, the future generation, when you’re asked, when you’re called upon by your community, please show up like I did because it matters, and you matter to us.” According to Arrupe Jesuit, the average family income of its students is just more than $46,000. The school stated since 2003, all of its graduates have been accepted to at least one college or university.
At a community gathering held Oct. 29, Denver city officials and locals met at 4735 Pecos St., a vacant building in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Formerly Walter W. Remington Elementary School, the Northwest Denver site has been at the center of a controversial proposal that would see it repurposed as a temporary emergency shelter for migrants. City officials at the meeting included Denver Police District 1 Commander Edward Leger; Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor’s Office Dominick Moreno; City Council President Amanda P. Sandoval, who also serves as deputy director of the city’s “newcomer program” intended to help house migrants; and City Council members Sarah Parady and Serena GonzalezGutierrez. The meeting was held to address community members’ concerns about the proposal, which would use the unoccupied school building to house up to 100 newcomers in emergency situations. City officials said the Remington site would not be used as a long-term solution for migrant housing. SEE SHELTER, P9
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