Original Anticipated Facility Requirements
When the Children's Reading Center board first envisioned an elementary charter school it described a small school with 12 classes where students and teachers could learn in the same place. It would be a model institution that focused on literacy development but would have a comprehensive program. The library-media center would be central. During the years of the project of facility development, this original vision did not change significantly.
Even before the school was opened the board had determined that the long term financial health and security of the program would be best served by CRC facility ownership. This would mean that more of the CRC Charter School operational money could go for the activity of education and less for "lease" costs, and long term costs could be controlled. No suitable pre-existing structure was found in Putnam County so construction of one seemed necessary. Of course, the hope was that this could be accomplished at a lower than usual cost for school construction.
The desired parameters for construction of the permanent facility as originally established by the CRC board prior even to the first opening of the school were the following:
12 or more classrooms (preferably large)
A central library media center
A cafeteria/multi-purpose area
Bathrooms as per code, but preferably classroom bathrooms
A bus turn-around separated from a car child drop off driveway
Playground and play field space
Appropriate administrative space
Structural and environment safety equal or better than tradition construction.
After observation during the early years of the school of the value of hands on science experience as a stimulus for learning for struggling readers, the board added the creation of a science and technology lab to the list.
On January 2008 the school moved into a new CRC designed and built facility that achieved each requirement and even had classroom bathrooms.