Here's an early look at the new Nettie S. Freed K-8 Expeditionary School

James Bartolo, Pueblo Chieftain
·2 min read

It's official: Pueblo School District 60 has cut the ribbon on all five of the new school buildings constructed during its $218 million bond project.

Nettie S. Freed K-8 Expeditionary School, the final school to be completed, held its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 24. The two-floor school building, 715 W. 20th St., sits on the old property of the former Freed Middle School and Heroes K-8 Academy.

Named after Nettie S. Freed, Colorado's first commissioner of education, the original Freed Middle School opened in 1954. It served as Pueblo's north side neighborhood middle school for six decades before rebranding as the short-lived Heroes K-8 Academy and being demolished in 2020.

The Discovery Center at the new Nettie S. Freed Expeditionary K-8 School.
The Discovery Center at the new Nettie S. Freed Expeditionary K-8 School.

"I've heard from lots of people who are in the neighborhood and excited to have a school of any kind back here, where there's been one for so long — especially to have another middle school option for students," said Nicolas Roberts, principal of Nettie S. Freed K-8 Expeditionary School. "As a magnet, we get to draw from all over town, but we do have a pretty significant group of students who are coming from this part of town specifically."

In addition to being a choice magnet school, Freed K-8 Expeditionary School differs from other Pueblo D60 schools with its use of an Expeditionary Learning curriculum — a curriculum designed in the 1990s through a partnership between the Harvard School of Education and Outward Bound.

The "Chimborazo Base Camp" pod for students at the new Nettie S. Freed Expeditioanry K-8 School.
The "Chimborazo Base Camp" pod for students at the new Nettie S. Freed Expeditioanry K-8 School.

Characteristics of Expeditionary Learning include interdisciplinary "expeditions" of specific topics, daily relationship building exercises and emphasis on Career and Technical Education (CTE).

While Freed K-8 Expeditionary School is designed to accommodate kindergarten through eighth grade students, an inaugural cohort of kindergarten through sixth graders will be attending their first day of school on August 28. This year's incoming sixth grade class will eventually be the school's first eighth grade class the 2025-26 school year.

The cafeteria of the new Nettie S. Freed Expeditionary K-8 School.
The cafeteria of the new Nettie S. Freed Expeditionary K-8 School.

Prior to cutting the ribbon on the new Freed K-8 Expeditionary School, Pueblo D60 held opening ceremonies for new East High School, Centennial High School, Sunset Park Elementary and Franklin School of Innovation buildings. The construction of Freed K-8 Expeditionary School began in May 2022 and cost about $38 million.

The new school building includes ample space for CTE classes including the "design den" and "creation cave." It also has a dual purpose gymnasium and auditorium. Classrooms, referred to as "base camps" at Freed K-8 Expeditionary School, are connected by non-powered garage doors to encourage collaboration between different classrooms.

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

More Education News: Colorado state test scores are in. How did Pueblo schools and districts fare in 2023?

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo D60 holds ribbon-cutting for Nettie S. Freed K-8 Expeditionary