For the first time in more than half a decade, students roam the halls of the campus formerly known as Four Peaks Elementary School. The Fountain Hills branch of the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) has officially moved into the location and, as of this semester, classes are underway.

FHUSD entered into talks with EVIT about opening a local campus over a year ago. The plan was that the new tenant would lease the building from the local district and offer a variety of classes that would appeal to youngsters both in Fountain Hills and neighboring districts.

As FHUSD Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney explained in a previous interview, both entities are prepared for a slow build. The plan is to offer a few courses this year, figure out how best to grow, then offer additional courses and educational opportunities in the coming years.

Currently, EVIT is only utilizing a fraction of their new building, including a large computer lab that has been converted from the old Four Peaks library. They’ve got a recording studio, a photography studio, standard classrooms and labs. In other words, as EVIT determines what classes will best fit on the campus, they’ve got plenty of room to grow.

Heading up the operations is EVIT’s East Campus principal, Craig Pearson. Locally, though, on-site administration is being handled by Bruce Hasley, who also teaches video production and business. Hasley offered insight into the new EVIT campus while occupying a desk in one of the newly renovated classrooms. This particular room now sports stadium seating and Hasley explained a large screen will soon occupy the front wall. This room will primarily serve as a place for students to view and display their current work, particularly in video and still photography.

Hasley estimated that it will still be a couple of weeks before all of the needed work on campus is done, but everything necessary to get classes rolling was ready once the new school year kicked off.

“Right now we offer nursing programs for certification, MC10 [Human Anatomy and Physiology for Medical Careers], video production and film, and photography,” Hasley explained. “Right now we’re in transition, so some of the classes we plan to eventually move here are still on the high school campus.”

Hasley said one of the obstacles the local EVIT campus is facing this school year is scheduling. EVIT offers its classes in afternoon blocks. Some students at FHHS might not be able to take advantage of the local campus because scheduling with their other classes was in conflict. By next school year, Hasley said they hope to have many of those issues ironed out so more students can take classes across both campuses.

“Right now we have about 24 students,” Hasley said. “We were hoping for more, but we think by next year we can grow to the 40-60 range. Scheduling should be a little more straightforward by next year.

“This is also a great opportunity for home school students. You can come here for a couple hours in the afternoon and that should fit in nicely with their scheduling.”

Hasley explained that, this year, the nursing program has already proven to be pretty popular.

“One of the advantages of something like our CNA program is that, while going to college, these kids can already be working in a clinic,” Hasley said. “They can be in a hospital and making a lot more money to pay for their schooling than they would be working at Burger King.”

For those who don’t choose to go on to college, they’ll be able to enter into the workforce straight out of high school with certification in their chosen field.

Overall, Hasley said he and his colleagues are pretty happy with the way the local EVIT campus has turned out in these early stages. He said there’s still work to do but, once everything is up and running, they’re planning to welcome the community to see what the new campus has to offer.

“The opening weeks have been great,” he said. “We’re planning an open house later in the year where we’ll invite students and the community in to get a proper tour of the building and see what we have to offer.

“Right now the campus is basically focused on Fountain Hills students. Moving forward, we’re going to offer a wider variety of courses that should appeal to even more students.”