Ammon Honors Academy program to expand, have ‘new’ school to call home

AMMON — A local historic school building that has served the community for generations is transitioning from being an elementary school to becoming a high school.

Ammon Elementary, which was located at 2900 Central Avenue in Ammon, will become home to Ammon Honors Academy (previously known as Praxium Mastery Academy). Nancy Jackson, principal of Ammon Honors Academy, said the name of the school was changed this summer because the school board wanted it to reflect the historical value of where they are going.

Ammon Honors Academy

Jackson said that because of a new elementary school (Willow Creek Elementary School) that is opening and a shift in boundaries, it left a spot open in Ammon to be able to expand their program.

“(The program has) been growing. There’s a lot of interest in it,” Jackson explained. “As a district, we have a big focus on giving students choice. We have a really good online school, a tech school, and a lot of different things going on. If you give students a choice, then we don’t lose them to charter schools. It gives them a lot of opportunity within our district so that we can keep them with us.”

Jackson said they’ve been a magnet middle school for Bonneville Joint School District 93, and students are bused in from all over the district if they choose to come to the school.

“We’ve become an honors school where if students come, it’s all honors classes. It’s project-based learning,” Jackson stated. “We do things a little bit differently there. Our theme is ‘We learn not just for school but for life,’ so we’re bringing in a lot of community members, and we’re diving into different ways that we can excel.”

Jackson explained that the district has given them the opportunity to expand to a high school. She said they currently have seventh-grade and eighth-grade, but they are adding ninth-grade this upcoming school year. They will remain at their current location, which is behind Rocky Mountain Middle School in the tech buildings, for one more year.

“We’re going to keep adding a grade until we get to 12th grade, so the year after it’ll be 10th grade and then 11th and then 12th,” Jackson said. “We’ll be an honors track magnet school for grades seven through 12th for School District 93.”

She said they will stay at their current location while construction is done on the building in Ammon. There are changes that need to be made to make it a high school, like adding a parking lot, science labs, a home economics room, and locker rooms for PE.

In August 2027, students will start at the Ammon location.

“We have kids going to Bonneville High School next year for electives. We’re using the cafeteria and the gym over at Rocky Mountain Middle School. We’ve got classes over at Bonneville online, and we have a trailer,” Jackson said. “We’re kind of everywhere, so to be able to be in one spot where we have a cafeteria and an auditorium and all the things in one building is super exciting for us to be able to call a place home.”

A look back at the history of the Ammon School building

Paul Jenkins, a member of the Bonneville Joint School District 93 school board, said the Ammon school building was built in 1937.

Jenkins explained that there used to be a lot of school districts, noting that every place had its own “little school district,” from Iona and Lincoln to Ammon and Ucon.

“(This Ammon School building) served as the Ammon School until about the 1950s,” Jenkins mentioned. “The state of Idaho legislature in 1950 said we’ve got too many little schools, and because we have so many little schools, we’re going to consolidate them. So the Bonneville School District was the consolidation of all those little school districts.”

The consolidation occurred in 1951, and, according to Jenkins, it was not something all community members agreed should happen.

“There was great contention,” Jenkins explained. “There were death threats over the consolidation and the building of what was going to later be Bonneville High School.”

In the meantime, while Bonneville High School (which is currently Rocky Mountain Middle School) was being built, the Ammon School building — along with the other local schools — continued to house elementary, junior high, and high school students.

It stayed this way until Bonneville High School (currently Rocky Mountain Middle School) opened in 1957.

“Then that turned Ammon back into an elementary school,” he stated.

Jenkins said he attended the Ammon School from fourth grade through sixth grade.

“I went to (elementary) school when we still had the high school students in Ammon,” he said. “When Bonneville was opened (at what’s currently Rocky Mountain), it became the high school and also the junior high, and that stayed like that until they created the new building, which is now Bonneville High School.”

Ammon Honors Academy principal Nancy Jackson said she also has family that attended school at the Ammon School building.

“My mom graduated … back in 1955 from this building, so for me, there’s a personal tie to this (building) as it has deep community roots,” she said. “I’ve got a grandpa who’s on the school board that was integral with that building. My mother-in-law went to elementary school there. As you talk to people, there’s a lot of people that have roots tied to this building.”

Although the Ammon School building has been around for decades, Jenkins said it’s not the oldest school building locally. Lincoln Alternative High School is the oldest school in Idaho that is still functioning as a school, he mentioned.

“When we open Willow Creek Elementary School, it will be the newest school, and Lincoln will be the oldest school,” he stated. “So we will have the unique distinction, at least for a few days, of having the newest and the oldest school that’s been in use in the state of Idaho.”

Jenkins also pointed out that even though the Ammon School building is older, it’s in “extremely good condition” because the school district ensures the buildings are kept up to date and safe.

“The building is being renovated,” he said. “The renovation will include a lift to bring the school into ADA compliance.”

Honoring ‘the rich tradition’

Jenkins said the district is looking forward to putting the honors academy at the Ammon location. He believes it will be a “fine service” to the community and the students.

“A school is really the center of the community, particularly when in the early days, the school also worked as a church, a school, a meetinghouse, and it worked for all kinds of events,” he said. “Schools still are the meeting places of the community … I’m proud to say that Bonneville School District 93 makes sure that we have schools available to people and provides that type of a service.”

Jackson is also looking forward to what’s to come and the opportunity to move to the school building in Ammon.

“We hope to honor the rich tradition that’s been in that building,” she said. “We’re excited to fill the halls again once the construction has happened, and to be able to keep it moving forward instead of having a building go away because it’s old. We’re able to repurpose this building and keep the history and be able to expand with a really amazing program, (and) I think it’ll be a real asset to the community.”