Santa Rosa’s Roseland University Prep gets $17M new campus
Architectural rendering of the entry to the $17 million new Roseland University Preparatory High School, which is set to break ground Jan. 22, 2016, in the Roseland area of southwest Santa Rosa. (Aidlin Darling Design & Studio Bondy Architecture)
BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF REPORT
January 21, 2016, 3:17PM
Students in the disadvantaged Roseland neighborhood of southwest Santa Rosa who dream of going to college are getting a $17 million boost.
Construction of the new $17 million Roseland University Preparatory High School (roselandsd.org/RUP) is set to start Jan. 22. The two-story, 30,800-square-foot building will have 17 standard classrooms, library, art room, science classroom, science lab, offices, large multipurpose room and courtyard. The school is scheduled to open in fall 2017.
“Our work at Roseland University Prep has been a series of miracles from the start,” said Roseland Public Schools Superintendent Amy Jones-Kerr. “We started with a simple idea: to prepare students to have options for college entrance and successful, productive careers. Today, we celebrate not only the new home for students who plan to pursue a college degree but also the accomplishments of our alumni, their families and supporters who created this vibrant community.”
The project is made possible through a variety of support including a $1 million grant from the Ernest L. and Ruth W. Finley Foundation and $400,000 in community donations. Both gifts are helping the district reach its goal of also using a $1.6 million matching grant from the state.
Other project funds include a $7 million low-interest loan from the California School Finance Authority and a $7 million state grant. To cover the final piece of the construction, Roseland Public Schools is working to raise the final $200,000 needed to capitalize on a $1.6 million matching grant from the Office of Public School Construction. Every dollar the community gives will be matched dollar-for-dollar through the state grant to cover the remainder of the construction costs.
Roseland University Prep is a charter high school aimed at boosting academic achievement in Roseland. Since opening in 2004, the school has had a nearly perfect graduation rate. Of its 2015 graduating class, 97 percent are currently attending a two- or four-year university. Of the 581 alumni, 98 percent are enrolled in college, have graduated or are in the armed services...