Grand Forks, GFAFB School Districts hold joint meeting

(KNOX) – School districts from Grand Forks and Grand Forks Air Force Base held a joint meeting Monday night.

Colonel Reynaldo Champion, leading the base mission since July, says the missing is looking forward to the construction of the new Twining School.

“Welcoming new families, it displays a unique story and history of Grand Forks Air Force Base as we look forward to this new school,” Col. Champion told the joint boards. “We’re excited about the STEM focus and STEM learning opportunities at the school that this new building will bring.”

Colonel Champion says the with the movement of B-1 bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota during December and January, the population of Grand Forks Air Force Base will grow from 800-to-1,000 airmen.

Eric Ripley, executive director of the Grand Forks Career Impact Academy, explained that Career and Technical courses are being moved from Red River and Central to the Academy.

Eleven new elective courses will be offered for Agriculture Technology I and II; Automotive Tech; Aviation I and II; Construction Essentials; Career Connection; Sports Medicine; Information Technology; Computer Science: and Advanced Manufacturing. Each elective will require specialized equipment.

To gauge interest, Ripley said 3,500 regional students were surveyed.

“Incidentally, Larimore School recently did an interest of their students and of their 80 students, 50 at the high school level said they’d be interested in taking a course of what we are proposing,” Ripley said. “Student interest is quite high.”

Ripley said the plan is to hire certified instructors by March.