Advanced Science and Technology Education Center (ASTEC)

[Plutonic Panda]

It is still alive and kicking...

awesome! I will drop by and take some pictures later today

[architect5311]

awesome! I will drop by and take some pictures later today

Not in construction phase yet...

[Plutonic Panda]

Not in construction phase yet...

oh.... I see. Any idea when we will see dirt start to turn?

[Spartan]

Again, can anyone explain why we are putting a very nice school for gifted children next to a consolidated homeless services campus?? This is what happens in a world without planning - which I guess would be OKC.

[trousers]

I'm guessing that someone felt it may have been a fairly centralized location for a school dominated by working class Hispanics.

[Spartan]

C2S outreach must not be effectively reaching minorities then, OR (more likely) something about the way we have conducted revitalization in that area isn't making the Hispanic community feel welcome, which is really atrocious considering they're the only ones using the neighborhood right now.

[bombermwc]

Or they had secured land before C2S had made much progress on anything. But way to jump to a racist conclusion there.

[Spartan]

Or they had secured land before C2S had made much progress on anything. But way to jump to a racist conclusion there.

Idiot

Nice racist jab, but you are the one suggesting it's okay for a largely Hispanic charter school to be relegated to non-ideal location, which I do not consider okay.

[bombermwc]

Name calling, sweet.

I happen to have a few folks at my church that attend ASTEC...they live in Choctaw and are White. Shock!

And if your concern is about the proximity to the concentration of the Hispanic population, this location is actually CLOSER than Shepard Mall (which is closer to the concentration of Asian population). It's close enough to the highway, that most of the trip can be taken by highway from the discussed C2S area, which decreases the time it takes to get there since you're not hitting stop lights every 1/2 mile like you would going to Shepard. I think you're looking for a problem where there isn't one.

[Spartan]

Name calling, sweet.

I happen to have a few folks at my church that attend ASTEC...they live in Choctaw and are White. Shock!

And if your concern is about the proximity to the concentration of the Hispanic population, this location is actually CLOSER than Shepard Mall (which is closer to the concentration of Asian population). It's close enough to the highway, that most of the trip can be taken by highway from the discussed C2S area, which decreases the time it takes to get there since you're not hitting stop lights every 1/2 mile like you would going to Shepard. I think you're looking for a problem where there isn't one.

You just double down as the idiot you are (hopefully you do understand the implication of projecting "name calling" while calling me a racist to back up your race-ignorant diatribes defending status quo)

C2S will surely thrive as the cultural hub it needs to be if we locate community facilities at nearby highway exits in the vicinity.

I'm going to keep calling you out as the idiot you are until others take notice. Your illogic drags down virtually everything you seem to click on.

To be clear I'm not taking issue with the school, but pointing out a major problem that can only be resolved if they get the support they really need. This shouldn't be done without that level of support.

[bombermwc]

I think your age is actually regressing there sir. It's quite astounding to see how the longer you're here, the more you resort to playground mentality. It's quite amusing to me, but go ahead. As a parent, I'm able to absorb a lot of b.s. I should also note that just because someone doesn't think the same way you do, doesn't make them an idiot. I believe you used that very argument against others on this forum in the past. So lets practice what we preach there. The world is full of different opinions, none of which are 100% right....including mine.

C2S is also at least a decade away from doing anything at all from the private sector, which is what a charter school is. You don't have to agree with me, but time will tell who is right there. Not only do we have a lot of land yet to buy up and demo, but you then have to find the private developers to build there. And with John Rex opening downtown, the push for a second school just doesn't have much footing.

ASTEC has actually had some issues with meeting testing standards for the lower grades. They got a D+ for 2013-2014, something I would call a success. The 9-12 ages got an A, so there's quite a disconnect there. Whether there's a language issue in lower grades or what. Time will tell if they are able to keep going.

[Pete]

Plans move forward for ambitious ASTEC Charter School campus

[warreng88]

Pete, what was the amount for the building permit? Also, do we know how much they have raised for the facility yet?

[LuccaBrasi]

Permit was for $37,000,000 - 168,000 SF

[warreng88]

Drove down General Pershing last night and noticed dirt work and trees being removed from the location. Pete, do you know if a permit has been filed or anything else about this?

[warreng88]

Pete, I posted about this two weeks ago. Do you know what is going on here?

[Pete]

^

If it is north of General Pershing and on the west side of Villa, that's for Positive Tomorrows Elementary, which is a completely separate project from ASTEC.

It's for children of the homeless and will be part of the Northcare campus:

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.ph...68#post1053268

[warreng88]

It is not, it is on the south side of General Pershing, just west of Villa. Directly south of the positive tomorrow campus.

[Pete]

These are from the ASTEC campus from about a month ago.

I also checked around and was told there are no current plans to move forward with the new school buildings, they have just cleared the land for maintenance sake. And also because there has been a large homeless encampment that was causing problems for the area.

[Pete]

The are moving forward with plans for the elementary school.

[Plutonic Panda]

Are they still going to build a larger complex down the road?

[Pete]

Are they still going to build a larger complex down the road?

That is the plan, no idea how long it will take them to raise the funds.

[Plutonic Panda]

That is the plan, no idea how long it will take them to raise the funds.

Okay thanks for the info. This is an interesting area that is building up.

[Pete]

Press release:

**************

ASTEC Charter Schools to break ground on new elementary
State’s first charter school expands

OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 19, 2019 – ASTEC Charter Schools will break ground on its new elementary school tomorrow, Sept. 20. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 3:30 p.m at the new school’s site.

The new elementary school, a $13 million facility, will be located at 2600 General Pershing Boulevard and will serve Oklahoma City students in grades pre-k through 5th grade.

In addition to school officials, scheduled to speak at the ceremony are Mayor David Holt, County Commissioner Carrie Blumert, Bob Ross, president and CEO of the Inasmuch Foundation and Brent Bushey, executive director of the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center.

ASTEC, which will soon celebrate its 20th year, was the first start-up charter school in Oklahoma. ASTEC’s middle and high schools have an enrollment of more than 1,000 students.

The school's foundation, The ASTEC Fund, in cooperation with the ASTEC governing board and the school’s founder and CEO, Dr. Freda Deskin, have raised more than $4 million in private and foundation dollars to purchase the land and provide down payment funding on the new building.

[urbanCOWBOY]

When ASTEC moves to its new location in a year or more, what will happen to the Shepherd Mall space that ASTEC currently fills? Shepherd Mall is WAY overdue for real improvements.