The first sixth-grade class to enroll at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy more than six years ago attended class off campus at a nearby church.
They walked through the desert to have lunch and take physical education classes on the school campus, 9500 N. Oracle Road.
Those students, who are now seniors, are among the first to attend class in a new building.
Talks to expand Pusch Ridge Christian Academy started when the school opened in the fall of 2000 to seventh- through 12th-graders. A sixth-grade class was added the following year.
More than seven years later, a major phase of the expansion is finally complete. A new 18,000-square-foot building with eight classrooms and two science labs opened when classes commenced in August. "This has been a long time coming," Principal Eric Abrams said.
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It cost nearly $4 million to construct the new building, a courtyard and an outdoor amphitheater on the campus nestled against the Santa Catalina Mountains.
Close to $2 million is still owed on the project, school officials said.
"I think that's OK," said Judy Davidson, the private school's director of development. "We are still working hard to raise the money. The thing is, we couldn't wait. Our enrollment was to the point where we needed to move forward."
Past and future fundraising efforts will cover the costs of the expansion.
Since the school first opened, enrollment has increased each year by about 7 percent, Abrams said. There are currently 480 students attending the school.
"It's just such a blessing," Davidson said of the expansion. "We will probably be able to serve close to 700 kids with this new building," which predominantly serves high school students. Middle-school students taking advanced math courses also attend classes there.
High school students still take English and fine arts classes in the 55,000-square-foot main building, which includes 24 classrooms, a cafeteria and the gymnasium.
Bleachers that open and retract automatically were installed in the gymnasium during the summer. The school raised $80,000 to pay for the seating.
There's a lot to like about all that's new on campus. Shattered blue glass is spread throughout the walkway leading up to the new building to resemble running water. Olive trees and rosemary bushes were planted to pay homage to the plants of the Holy Land.
An outdoor amphitheater has already been used for a school production, and community groups have staged performances there.
"We want this to be a blessing to the community," Abrams said.
Then there is the new building itself. "It's more important what goes on in the classroom than what the classroom looks like," Davidson said. "But it sure is nice to bless these teachers and students with a facility that they can be proud of."
All of the classrooms in the new building are equipped with Smart Boards. Seven classrooms in the main building have Smart Boards and others will be added later.
"It's easier to read text than handwriting on the overhead projector," senior Peter LaMear said.
No one disputes that the addition of a new building is great for the school, but some teachers and students miss seeing friends and colleagues at the main building.
"It's been awkward for me to be up here," teacher Matt Peyton said. "Not seeing teachers, that's a big difference for me. You really have to go out of your way."
High school students don't mind being segregated from middle-school students, but they too miss seeing friends and teachers.
"I don't think I ever see the middle schoolers, which can be good or bad," junior Bree Pooley said.
