Cañon City Schools, which serves eight schools at elementary, middle and high school levels in central Colorado, has announced the successful completion of transformative additions and renovations across four major buildings: Lincoln School of Science & Technology (LSST), McKinley Elementary, Cañon Exploratory School and Cañon City High School.
District leaders, including members of the Board of Education, district Superintendent Adam Hartman and Cañon City Schools’ principals from each school, joined local stakeholders, community members and project partners at ribbon-cutting ceremonies and open house celebrations in September to mark this milestone ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
Wold Architects and Engineers, a national firm with a local office in Denver and extensive educational design expertise, served as the project’s architect alongside project partners Wember Inc. Owner’s Representative, and Nunn Construction, as well as 3 Rocks Engineering, a Cañon City-based firm that led civil engineering efforts.
“We are honored to help reimagine learning spaces across Cañon City Schools, from modernized classrooms to expanded gyms and innovative career-connected environments,” said Josh Grenier, principal at Wold Architects and Engineers. “The district has been an excellent partner throughout the planning and design process, and together we’ve maximized local and state resources to create facilities that reflect the community’s pride and commitment to its students. It’s exciting to see these spaces come to life, ready to inspire the next generation.”
In 2023, Cañon City Schools was awarded a $23 million Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant, followed by a successful bond election dedicated to funding critical upgrades at the four schools most in need of updates, including modernizing learning environments, expanding CTE facilities and building new and improved gymnasiums.
“These projects represent more than bricks and mortar; they’re an investment in our students, our teachers and the future of Cañon City,” said Adam Hartman, superintendent of Cañon City Schools. “The completed spaces provide a modern educational environment that supports our district’s continued growth and our goal of fostering lifelong learning. Thanks to the support of our community and our project partners, we’re opening doors to safer, more inspiring and better-equipped spaces that will empower learning for generations to come.”
From long-standing traditions to innovative learning models, Cañon City schools are evolving to meet the needs of today’s students across the district. For more than 60 years, McKinley Elementary has been a cornerstone of the community, and its impact continues with a new 6,625-square-foot gym addition. Celebrating 25 years of Discovery School culture, Lincoln School of Science and Technology begins the year with a few construction projects completing, including a 5,949-square-foot gym, a 2,614-square-foot classroom addition and renovations to provide critical support spaces. Since adopting its exploratory learning model in 1992, Cañon Exploratory School has embraced multi-age communities, project-based “Explorations,” Choice Theory and Multiple Intelligences, now strengthened by recent internal improvements, including a full remodel of the central library space, that enhance the learning environment for all ages.
Originally constructed in 1961, Cañon City High School has long served local students and families but needed upgrades to address structural issues, outdated infrastructure and inadequate learning environments. In addition to replacing the 1961 classroom wing, the project relocates administrative offices and adds an expanded commons, new library and learning commons, counseling offices and a maker space to support the growing career-connected learning pathways program. Included in Phase I, a new two-story wing, responding to and improving upon the design of the school’s 2006 wing, will replace the “quad” and house classrooms and common areas. The remainder of the project is expected to be completed by summer 2026.
“These projects represent more than bricks and mortar; they’re an investment in our students, our teachers and the future of Cañon City,” said Adam Hartman, superintendent of Cañon City Schools. “The completed spaces provide a modern educational environment that supports our district’s continued growth and our goal of fostering lifelong learning. Thanks to the support of our community and our project partners, we’re opening doors to safer, more inspiring and better-equipped spaces that will empower learning for generations to come.”
