History

Valley View Elementary in 1969-1970

Valley View Elementary School is located in Boise on Milwaukee Street of Capital High School.  The school opened in September 1969 and was built at the same time as Maple Grove and Owyhee Elementary.  The design of both Valley View and Owyhee was primarily a result of the open classroom movement at the time.  Both schools were built with a “cluster” of classrooms that had movable partitions meant to facilitate team teaching and cooperative learning. Instead of students going from room to room for different courses, teachers trade sections within the cluster.


The 29,200 square foot structure was designed by Nat J. Adams of Boise and built by Walter Opp Construction Company of Nampa at a cost of $469,091 with an additional $34,781 spent on school equipment. During the time when Valley View was built, school names reflected neighborhood and street names near the school. Valley View Drive runs near the elementary school. The school was dedicated on November 20, 1969.


Due to population growth, an expansion was added on to the school increasing the total classrooms to 18 and clusters to six.  In January, 1971 construction was completed and students moved into the new fifth and sixth grade clusters. The main building also includes a library and multipurpose room used for lunch, physical education, and other school and community activities.  Four portable buildings are on the property to accommodate and support special programs as well as highly flexible usage. The property also features a large playground.


On March 14, 2017, voters passed a bond that supported an Educational Facilities Master Plan to reinvest in our neighborhood schools and community. Part of the bond included a new Valley View Elementary, to be built in the same location, that will help address flexible space needs, meet modern education standards, and provide adequate space for physical education and music.