Room to Grow - Right Next Door

June 22, 2010

Dear Explorer West Middle School families:

The Explorer West Board and I are excited to let you know that we have reached an agreement in principle to occupy the classrooms that the Westside School will be vacating in the main building. As you have probably heard, Westside is moving their entire school operations to the E.C. Hughes School building this summer.

A formalized sub-lease agreement between Explorer West and Westside School is being drafted and must be approved by the Boards of both schools as well as the Highline School District. We don’t anticipate any issues with that process. While the details are finalized, we will start preparing for the move this summer.

Westside is making a variety of improvements to EC Hughes and needs to keep their existing furniture, equipment and supplies at the current classrooms until they move and occupy the new space. It is anticipated Westside will be able to vacate sometime in early to mid August. At that point, Explorer West will be able to better determine the timing of our move and how we can best use the support of our families. Certainly we will have some cleaning and painting to do in the classrooms and we will notify you about having a community work party when it is appropriate.

It may be that we begin the next school year in our current configuration, still using the portables for a period of time, but we will keep you posted on the process of occupying the main school building as events unfold.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as Explorer West and Westside officials worked through this collaborative process. I know both schools are thrilled about having their own dedicated space. What a wonderful milestone for our schools and community. We certainly wish the Westside School a wonderful and prosperous future at their new facility.

Sincerely,

Evan Hundley, Head of School
Doug Pedegana, President of the Board
Explorer West Middle School