Springfield Public Schools’ students laid their little hands on the large scissors alongside Superintendent Granita Lathan as they snipped the blue ribbon officially declaring the former Fairview school a permanent home for the Academy of Exploration.
After months of renovations to the former school on North Grant Avenue, also known as the Hillcrest High School annex, the much-anticipated new facility welcomed parents and the community Thursday evening.
The magnet program is focused on STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — and has been around since 2014. It was housed in the Discovery Center of Springfield for the first eight years. Then, for one year, the program moved to the former Geek Foundation location on Walnut Street.
The school is full of specialized classrooms. The compute room is dedicated to math. Another, the explain room, has potted plants and large floor…
