Oak Grove Lutheran School to break ground May 14 for new facilities on both campuses
FARGO, N.D. — Oak Grove Lutheran School leaders on Tuesday (May 14) will hold ceremonial groundbreaking events on the school’s two campuses to celebrate progress on its Acorns to Oaks campaign, funding initial construction and renovations starting this month and running through August 2025.
The groundbreaking at the school’s South Campus, 2720 32nd Ave. South, is scheduled at 8:30 a.m., starting in the gymnasium and moving outside to the playground area. The event at the historic North Campus, 124 North Terrace, will start at 11:30 a.m. in the Scheels Center for the Performing Arts and continue outside between Jackson Hall and Eid Center.
Oak Grove leaders in May 2023 announced the Acorns to Oaks campaign with a primary goal of $26 million and an aspirational goal of $30 million for construction and renovation. Through work with Zerr Berg Architects and Olaf Anderson Construction, school leaders have set plans for nearly $31 million in facilities improvements with several alternates that could be added with further financial support.
The groundbreaking events represent another milestone in the school’s long-range plans, according to OGLS President Bob Otterson.
“This campaign has focused on today’s students and subsequent generations of Grovers for two-plus years,” Otterson said. “These facilities — through new construction and renovation — promise the right environments for effective teaching, learning and student development.”
The institutional master plan for the school’s historic North Campus features a new facility for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and new commons area on the original Oak Grove campus that serves students in grades 6-12. The campaign funds a new activity center (gymnasium) and new music room at the South Campus, serving students from age 3 through grade 5.
“A broad spectrum of people who care deeply about Oak Grove, its students and its mission — alumni, current parents, grandparents, people who value faith-based education and people who know the importance of Oak Grove in this area — have committed resources for new facilities that will enhance the well-rounded experiences families expect from this school.”
The new construction on North Campus covers more than 17,000 square feet on the footprint of the current Eid Center, a one-story facility used since late 1985 for foodservice and group events. Demolition of that structure is scheduled shortly after Oak Grove’s baccalaureate and commencement on May 26. The new building will include modern science labs, rooms designed for teaching mathematics, additional classrooms and collaborative spaces for small-group teaching and learning.
New construction on the South Campus also covers a footprint of more than 17,000 square feet. Nearly 14,000 square feet comprise an activities center that will reduce scheduling stress on the existing gymnasium that is used for lunch, physical education, chapel, large assemblies and indoor recess on inclement weather days. A new music room will be added between existing structures.
Some renovation work has started on the North Campus. Crews started working last week in Benson Hall on the remodeling and the mechanical systems upgrades.
Oak Grove Lutheran School serves 730 students from preschool through grade 12 on two campuses in Fargo. The school started in 1906 as the Oak Grove Lutheran Ladies Seminary, a high school for girls. Boys joined the student body in 1926. The school added its South Campus elementary and the Kjos Early Learning Center in 2005. Oak Grove’s mission calls for expressing God’s love by nurturing students for academic achievement, lifelong Christian commitment, and loving service throughout the world. The school has been accredited continuously since 1926 by Cognia and its predecessor organizations. Niche, a service that studies how families choose schools, ranks Oak Grove as the best private K-12 school in North Dakota, the best private high school in North Dakota, the best Christian high school in North Dakota, and the best college prep private high school in the state.
— GROVERS —
