Old O.E. Bell school comes alive with students again

Come Monday, the old O.E. Bell Junior High School building in Idaho Falls will once again be an actual school. After being abandoned as a school for decades, it will be filled with students.

Alturas International Academy charter school began last year, housed in the old Melaleuca building. But thanks to a million dollar grant from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertsons Family Foundation, they were able to remodel O.E. Bell.

“We have 417 students grades K-8 and we have 225 on our waiting list to get in. It’s been quite an adventure to do all this,” Alturas founder and executive director, Michelle Ball, said.

“This is luxury,” Alturas mom, Kate Scattergood said. “This is incredible compared to last year. We were just getting by and it was still fabulous curriculum, but this year, we couldn’t ask for anything better.”

“The classrooms are so cool. I just love this school,” 4th grade student Spencer Rigby said.

“We brought it back to its original roots and when the former O.E. Bell students come in, you can just feel their love for the school. And I felt this is exactly the environment this school should feel like,” Ball said.