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ST. CLAIR SHORES — On June 6, the Lake Shore Public Schools community gathered for the grand opening of the new early childhood and community center located on Harper Avenue.
Construction started in spring of 2024. The school district received a grant from the state of Michigan worth around $1.5 million to help with the costs of construction. It is also part of a bigger bond project worth around $67 million.
It is connected to Rodgers Elementary School. The school also went through renovations to make it smaller for its students.
The facility includes early childhood classrooms, a rock wall located in a huge, turfed area, a pickleball court and a security room, and it also houses the school district’s administration.
The day of the grand opening, some of the classrooms were set up with sensory aids and toys for kids to experience. The rock wall was available to try with instructors watching. Students and guests practiced on the pickleball court, and they threw footballs and baseballs in the turfed area.
Superintendent Joe DiPonio said it’s a relief that the building is done, and it was a cool experience to see it all come together.
“There’s still some things that we need to kind of get dialed in because we won’t officially open until September,” DiPonio said. “But (this is) kind of the soft opening to give us an idea of what’s working, what’s not. Get feedback from the community on what they like and what they would like to see out of this space.”
He said the building is for the Lake Shore community and they want to be responsive to their needs and desires.
The school district used services from Partners in Architecture and Barton Mallow. DiPonio said toward the end of the project, they met almost daily and before that, they received frequent updates on construction to make sure everything went according to plan.
The community center will be open all days of the year at all times.
Along with a security system that has an eye over the whole district, the doors in the early childhood center are secured in a way that will not allow entry to patrons utilizing the community center.
DiPonio said the space was designed so that safety is the top priority. He said community members cannot access the early childhood center or the elementary school.
He said the input from the community has been positive. He mentioned the neighbors have experienced a lot of dust and vehicles going through their area.
“They’ve been incredibly patient and supportive,” DiPonio said.
He went on to say the initial reaction has been joyous.
Originally the building was scheduled to be completed by the beginning of the 2026 school year, but they got it done a little early. DiPoinio said they’ve also been on budget and that the grant helped them through record inflation and costs.
“We’ve hit every mark that we wanted to hit with this and actually we’ve done better,” DiPonio said.
Councilwoman Candice Rusie is an alumni of Lake Shore Public Schools and went to Rodgers Elementary. She said the building is amazing.
“They have done some amazing work,” Rusie said. “It will serve the community well. It will serve the students well.”
Rusie said it’s also been great to see the continued growth and development from her school days.
Community Education Coordinator Shannon Kettlehut said she kept using the phrase “grateful” to describe what the facility makes her feel.
“The community has given us this opportunity for our kids and community,” Kettlehut said.
To find more information about the community center and the early childhood center, go to the Lake Shore website at lakeshoreschools.org.
