Le Jardin begins expansion of campus
Completion in fall 2008 should raise enrollment to 900
Le Jardin Windward Oahu Academy will start construction today on a $19 million expansion adding a library, gymnasium and 18 new classrooms to its Kailua campus.
The project, set to be completed by fall 2008, will allow Le Jardin to welcome about 80 preschool through kindergarten students who have been attending classes in leased classrooms at a Lutheran church about a mile away from the main campus, said Powell Berger, the school's media representative.
The first phase of the project, which will include six classrooms and a library, should be ready in August.
With the new space, the college preparatory school is expecting enrollment to jump to 900 from 760 students by fall 2008, when the remaining classrooms, library facilities and gymnasium are scheduled to be done.
Berger said placing all students in one location will help parents who currently have to drop off their children at different sites. The gymnasium will give more options for students who have been relying on a large soccer field for sports, she said.
Meanwhile, the school said the expansion will not affect the campus' open areas.
"The original layout was designed with expansion in mind, and we've got quite a bit of green space now," she said. "Even with the new building, it will still have a sort of pastoral, wide-open feel to it."
Le Jardin, which inaugurated its permanent campus in 1999 at the former Kailua Drive-in on Kalanianaole Highway, will soon be offering all three international baccalaureate programs.
The school also plans to have more foreign-language and in-depth science courses.