‘A school that will outlive all of us’: Peperzak Middle school on track to open this fall

Spokane Public Schools’ newest middle school will be opening this fall, with construction wrapping up on Carla Olman Peperzak Middle School, which is designed to inspire community and comfort among students.

Peperzak’s inaugural student body will consist of 500 sixth- and seventh- graders, with eighth-graders joining the ranks of the Peperzak Pumas next year, as they matriculate from the class of seventh-graders. Staff expects to serve an additional 250-300 students next school year with the integration of all three grade levels.

Flexibility is at the forefront of the building’s design, with additional classrooms unassigned to teachers and free spaces that can become instruction spaces. The building, located at 2620 E 63rd Ave., is designed for 850 students, but can “flex” to 1,000 if needed, said Greg Forsyth, capital projects director at Spokane Public Schools.

The construction of the school is funded through a $495 million bond voters passed in 2018. District-wide, the bond paid for three new middle schools, including Peperzak, replacing three middle schools, expanding some buildings, updates on all schools and replacing the Joe Albi stadium. Construction for Peperzak cost nearly $77 million, according to an estimation on the district’s webpage.

Peperzak principal Andre Wicks has spent 27 years at Spokane Public Schools, holding roles as a coach, teacher, principal’s assistant and, most recently, principal. He said he’s ready to use his position to lead and promote collectivism and belonging at the school.

The excitement and pressure are not lost on Wicks, and he’s eager to create the culture of belonging at the school in a way that honors the school’s namesake, 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Carla Olman Peperzak, who lives in Spokane.

Assistant Principal Cori Fletcher taught sixth grade for 13 years before she decided to work in administration. With teamwork on her mind, she’s excited to help her students “become their best selves,” and grow herself as a result.

Students at Peperzak will be organized into “neighborhoods,” each occupying a hallway in the school. Students will have their core classes with peers in their neighborhood, not necessarily following the same schedule, but with the same teachers.

Each neighborhood is a collection of classrooms with windows facing common areas as “passive supervision” on students in these spaces.

Common areas like hallways and courtyards intended for transitional use have become spaces inviting students to make themselves comfortable. Still wrapped in plastic are dozens of soft-cushioned chairs to be set up in these spaces, with natural light streaming in a floor-to-ceiling window offering vast views of ponderosa-lined ridges. Along the walls are counters, “coffee bars” sans coffee, where Wicks and Fletcher imagine students setting up their laptop and working independently. Architects chose the colors in the school intentionally: walls painted wheat gold, sage green and ponderosa bark orange compliment the landscape of the surrounding area.

“Now transition areas are destination areas,” Forsyth said.“We feel these areas will be student-owned rather than teacher-owned.”

Separate from the neighborhood system, students and staff will all be organized into ten “Harry Potter”-style houses, randomly assigned, so that students and staff are connected in more ways than instruction.

“The neighborhoods are like nests, the house system is the branches bringing the whole tree together,” Fletcher said.

At the heart of the school is the learning commons, defined by a large set of stairs for students to commune. Surrounding the commons are classrooms for extracurriculars like art and woodshop, with large windows facing the commons so students can watch their peers at work.

“It’s kind of advertising for our extracurriculars,” Fletcher said.

The school partnered with the Spokane Public Library System so that everything offered through Spokane libraries is accessible at Peperzak. The library will make weekly visits to the school to drop off materials requested by students.

Scheduled to open this fall, the school will be welcoming its first squad of sixth- and seventh-graders from the feeder schools of Adams, Hamblen, Mullan Road, Wilson and Hutton Elementary Schools.

For Fletcher, it’s especially significant that all Peperzak’s students and staff will all be starting on the same blank slate.

“We’re going to learn together,” Fletcher said. “It’s gonna be awesome.”

Throughout the school’s construction, Carla and Wicks have grown close. In November, Wicks and Fletcher are planning to throw Carla a school-wide 100th birthday party.

“It gives me goosebumps talking about it, because there’s so many other unique things about this opportunity that really is once in a lifetime,” Wicks said. “I mean, no one that I’ve ever talked to has opened a brand new building and gets to hang out and have lunch with the school’s namesake. Carla’s a friend of mine now. We’ve broken bread together.”