By Victoria Jimenez

Assistant editor

From CSU-Pueblo officials and Villa Bella Expeditionary officials;

Villa Bella Expeditionary, Pueblo’s first Expeditionary K-5 charter elementary school will officially break ground Jan. 21 at 10:30 a.m. at 2390 Rawlings Blvd., located south of Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl.

The ceremony will include brief statements from Scott Robertshaw, VBE Board President; Logan Gogarty, founder and director; Ed Smith, superintendent for Pueblo School District 70; and Mohamed Abdelrahman; provost for Colorado State University-Pueblo. They will be followed by a ceremonial groundbreaking and picture taking.

After the reception, a fundraiser for Villa Bella will be held at Thunderzone Taphouse & Pizza and with Lobos Tacos & Tequila between 11:00 a.m. to noon. Ten percent of all purchases from these locations during that time will be donated to the charter school.

According to officials, the charter school aims to cultivate a strong synergistic relationship with CSU-Pueblo by offering opportunities for K-5 students to use university resources, while internships and field experience at the elementary will be available for university students’ professional development.

Evidenced-based, hands-on curriculum is being offered for students beginning K-3, and the school aims to grow with their students into grades 4 and grade 5 and be fully built out by year 3 of operation.

The school is introducing a teaching model with emphasis on “more doing and less lecture.”

The goal for Villa Bella is to increase hands on experience for their students, allowing them to integrate traditional subjects simultaneously, such as literacy, reading, writing, character development and teamwork, through exploration and personal research.

More information on Villa Bella Expeditionary School can be found at www.villabellaschool.org