SUQUAMISH — On the heels of the completion of the Clearwater Casino Resort — which provides employment and enjoyment for adults — the Suquamish Tribe recently started construction on a $2.3 million building that will promote education for the youth, ages infant to 12.

Last Friday, a group of those youth — decked out in orange hard hats and matching shirts — spaded the first shovelfuls of dirt for the tribe’s new Marion Forsman-Bouschie Early Learning Center, which will share a campus with the existing tribal education department once it is constructed off of Totten Road in Suquamish.

“Everything has fallen into place very well, if construction goes as well as everything else, it should be a very smooth process,” said ELC project manager Greg Byler of Gregory G. Byler and Associates, noting an estimated completion date in February 2007. “They budgeted a Chevy, and I believe we are delivering a Cadillac.”

The roundtable-style visioning process for the center began last winter, and after numerous discussions with both tribal leaders and ELC educators, project architect ARC Architects of Seattle has produced a design that has teachers, parents and project managers alike frenetic with anticipation.

But those involved won’t be on pins and needles much longer as construction on the infrastructure that will support the center and its adjacent outdoor amenities began Monday.

“It’s very teacher-friendly design,” said newly appointed ELC program director Lisa Horn. “It’s going to be a great learning environment and an environment where the teachers have a lot of room for planning and really fine tuning the program.”

When finished, the 11,800-square-foot center will be about twice the size of the current building in the newly remodeled area of Suquamish Village.

Along with designated areas for each different age group and specific rooms for the Early Head Start programs, ELC teachers will be getting more elbow room with additional planning space.

“We really listened to the people who will use (the center), and we tried to respond to make the facility able to handle that,” Byler said, noting a particular focus on how teachers will use the space. “In the center of the (classroom) pods (will be) a teacher resource center and office, right smack in the middle of two classrooms.”

Along with more room for teachers, the new ELC will also provide enough area for kids to spread their wings. However, one of the most anticipated amenities of the new center will actually be outside its doors.

A multi-age specific outdoor recreation area complete with playgrounds, bicycle/tricycle trails and a congregating area should provide an invaluable resource, project architect Stan Lokting said.

Indoors, a large central commons area will also provide versatility for students and staff, as its design creates the ability for gatherings as well as presentations, Byler said.

“The nice thing about the (new) center is they have taken all of the requirements for Early Head Start and they were able to design it so that it meets the standards required by those programs, so we will not be having to go back and retrofit the program after we built them,” said Keri Peltier, head of the Suquamish education department, noting the program’s specific design guidelines. “This will be built from the ground up, based on the performance standards — it’s gonna be perfect.”

Peltier also noted the envisioned benefits in coordination from having both the education department and the ELC on the same campus.

“What (that) will do is give children a real feeling of continuity, and it will also bridge the gap between the departments, making it better for not only the kids and families but also the teachers and administrators,” Horn said.