Adams County students will get more access to technical and practical job skill training, according to an Adams County District 12 Five Star plan.

The southwest corner of the intersection of 126th Avenue and Washington Street will be home to the new Career and Technical Education campus of Adams 12 Five Star School district, and officials anticipate the campus opening in the fall of 2020.

The ten acres of land, which is located in one of the county’s fastest growing business corridors, was purchased by the district for $1.3 million. The purchase was part of a $350 million bond program approved by district voters in 2016. The bond also provides money for a significant renovation of the Bollman Technical Education Center.

“Finding an existing building or vacant land that would not only meet our current need for CTE programming but also provide room for future expansion proved to be incredibly challenging,” said District Chief Operations Officer Pat Hamilton. “This location, within an active business park and close to so many industry partners, places students seeking career training opportunities in the heart of a thriving business community and puts Five Star Schools in a prime position to expand business partnerships to provide new opportunities for students.”

The district has had a thriving CTE program since 1974 when the Bollman Technical center opened, and in recent years have had to turn students away due to lack of space and resources. The second campus could increase opportunities for students by as much as 80 percent.

CTE is vocational career training offered to district high school students, including construction trades, welding, EMT training and diesel mechanic courses. New programming will include criminal justice, forensic science and fire science programs.

“CTE is another pathway we offer for students who may not be on the college path but are looking for career training,” said Kevin Denke, communications specialist for Adams 12 Five Star Schools.

Complement to Bollman

According to Denke, the new facility will complement the existing programs at Bollman and throughout the district and will accommodate needs associated with technical training, such as space for diesel mechanics, outdoor space for housing materials and training, as well as access points for mechanics.

“One thing that’s been important to us is that we construct a facility that’s flexible because career needs continue to evolve and change,” said Denke.

More than 6,000 students in the district are enrolled in CTE classes this year, and the goal of the district, according to Denke, is to build a connection between all of the district’s programs.

“We are still flushing out the design process,” said Denke. “Really one of the things that’s at the heart of what our architects are doing is building a district-wide connection between our CTE campuses. We have individual CTE programs spread out across our district, and we want to build a connection between all those programs.”

Cuningham Group Architects will handle the design of the new campus as well as the Bollman renovation, and Adolfson and Peterson Construction were selected as the general contractor for the new campus, which will be approximately 45,000 square feet.