“The fire marshal took one look at those yurts recently and said, ‘yeah, that’s not really gonna fly,’’’ said Mary Newman, head of school at The Sharon Academy, explaining the urgency of a permanent solution. The four yurts in front of the school were always intended to be temporary, but have served as classrooms since 2005. Now, after a decade-long process, TSA is replacing the yurts with a new wing focused on hands-on learning for science, shop, and art projects.
TSA was approved for a low-interest loan as part of the USDA’s rural development program this spring, enabling the project. The money will be used alongside $1.3 million in fundraising to build a 5,379-square-foot wing, adjacent to the…