CALDWELL, Idaho — Teachers at Vallivue School District's new Falcon Ridge Elementary are busy moving into their brand-new classrooms as they prepare for the first day of school on Aug. 13. The playground is also nearing completion as staff work to create a welcoming environment for students.
"It's really exciting because you get to start something new, like start it from the ground up, build the culture of the school," Joe Ball, a third-grade teacher at Falcon Ridge, said.
WATCH: Falcon Ridge Elementary Staff talk about opening a new school
Just over a week before these buildings see students for the first time ever, final touches are still in the works as teachers get settled into their new classrooms.
"I anticipated there's going to be some bumps in the road. We are just moving in today, or actually yesterday, we just moved staff in, and we're still trying to figure some things out," said Travis Poulsen, principal of Falcon Ridge Elementary.
Still on the to-do list is stocking library shelves with almost 2,000 books.
"We just need to take some of the bookshelves out so there will be a smooth process," Poulsen said.
Falcon Ridge — along with Desert Springs Elementary — is home to the district's GRIT program, a space dedicated to building students' behavioral and social-emotional skills with hopes of eventually transitioning into general education classrooms.
Poulsen spent 8 years as a special education director and now hopes to see collaboration among departments.
"How do we meet that need? Is it in this program? Is it a combination of programs? Is it a little bit of pushing in the classroom and a little bit of pull-out? It all depends. It's kid by kid," Poulsen said.
This year, these teachers are going through change right alongside those new students who are preparing to enter Falcon Ridge for the first time and make new friends.
"There's a lot of unknowns. So there's always going to be some scary feelings for kids that they have to process," Ball said.
Falcon Ridge will welcome 525 students on the first day of school, 75% of its capacity. Several developers have proposed nearby subdivisions, which will add around 1,400 homes to the immediate area, leading some district officials to worry that even new schools like Falcon Ridge could be over capacity by the end of the decade.
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