Educational Facilities Expansion

Current welding shop and bathrooms. Site of future automotive technology facility.
Welding shop

High school students here in the Methow Valley can look forward to an innovative expansion of career and technical education facilities at TwispWorks. The expansion will include:

  • Renovating and expanding the current welding shop, as well as building a new 2,000+ square-foot, two-bay automotive tech garage to replace the single car garage currently in use at the Independent Learning Center.
  • Improving the northeast corner of TwispWorks’ campus (includes the welding facility and future automotive tech facility, as well as the Little Star South Collaborative) to include pavement, connective pathways, and traffic control measures.

The welding shop renovations, including significant renovations to an existing classroom, have been completed. Bathrooms for exclusive student use as well as two bathrooms on the outside of the building for public use will open soon. TwispWorks expects to break ground on the automotive tech facility in early April.

The new facilities will help provide long term solutions for recent community challenges such as retention of youth talent, labor shortages, need for career and technical education opportunities, and lack of living wage jobs. The expansion is made possible by a strong partnership with the Methow Valley School District, which will provide the programming (equipment, curriculum, staff, enrollment, etc.) while TwispWorks provides and maintains the facility. The auto tech facility will have the capacity to include electric vehicles in the curriculum. Increasing career and technical education offerings was one of the key ideas to come out of the school district’s 2020 Dream Big planning process (see page 6).

The total cost for the career and technical education facilities expansion at TwispWorks is expected to be $1.47 million. A combined $1.23 million has been committed by Moccasin Lake Foundation ($758,000), Murdock Charitable Trust ($450,000), Confluence Health and Wenatchee Valley Medical Group Community Partnership Fund ($3,000), and others. TwispWorks is actively seeking additional grant funding, as well as donations from individuals and businesses to complete the project.

Thank You, Supporters!

Our grantors and donors are AMAZING! We are thrilled to have their support as we complete our educational facilities expansion. Please join us in thanking these generous foundations and businesses!

Foundations
Confluence Health & Wenatchee Valley Medical Group Community Partnership Fund
Moccasin Lake Foundation
Murdock Charitable Trust

Businesses
Blackcap Builders Collective
Serious Fun Studio
FETS