New Broken Arrow elementary school officially named Rosewood Elementary
Nate Hutchings to lead as principal of the district’s 16th elementary school
Launch the media gallery 1 playerAt their monthly meeting, Broken Arrow Public Schools Board of Education members voted to name the district’s 16th elementary school Rosewood Elementary, which will open its doors for the 2020-21 school year. The school is located at 4300 E. Gary St., near 101st and the Creek Turnpike.
“Rosewood Elementary was one of three ideas the naming committee proposed to the Board,” said Nate Hutchings, who was recently named as the school’s principal. “The committee was made up of Broken Arrow administrators, teachers, parents and students. The name was chosen to honor the City of Broken Arrow, which was once proclaimed as the City of Roses.”
Hutchings was named Rosewood Elementary’s principal at the January Board of Education meeting. He will continuing serving as Arrowhead Elementary’s principal until the end of the current school year.
Hutchings pursued his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Central Oklahoma and earned his master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Missouri in the fall of 2013. Hutchings taught third and fourth grade at Columbia Public Schools for six years before moving back to Oklahoma in 2013. He initially joined Broken Arrow Public Schools as a fifth grade teacher at Country Lane Intermediate, and since then, he has served as an assistant principal and site principal.
“With over half of the district’s growth at the elementary school level, this new elementary school is an exciting step forward for our district,” he said.
As part of the 2015 bond issue, the district began building Rosewood Elementary in April 2019. The site will accommodate approximately 600 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and will include 28 classrooms, a media center, art and music classrooms, a full-size gymnasium and a tornado safe room.
“In addition, the school site will contain a cistern and wind turbine in an effort to start introducing students to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math),” Broken Arrow Public Schools Executive Director of Construction Bob Tolomeo said. “A cistern is a water collection system, and it will use rain water gathered from the roof to irrigate some of our landscaping. The wind turbine will be used as a learning tool to teach students about energy conservation. We are excited about the features at Rosewood Elementary.”
Hutchings agreed with Tolomeo’s sentiments.
“In a school district that prides itself on being student focused and relationship driven, Rosewood Elementary has been designed to do just that,” Hutchings said. “This school is going to be sharp and has been carefully thought out to provide our students with the best learning environment possible. I’m so excited to work with the staff, students and families of Rosewood Elementary to create a culture of learning that will impact generations.”
A committee will begin the search for Hutchings’s replacement at Arrowhead Elementary for the 2020-21 school year.