The Santa Rosa Ranch School, located in Sells, AZ, south of Phoenix and west of Tucson, serves 125 Native American students, kindergarten to eighth grade. The school is also part of the Tohono O’odham Nation, and students come from nine of the 11 districts on the reservation. The Tohono O’odham Nation has approximately 28,000 members and is the second largest tribe in AZ. It is situated in southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico, spanning 2.8 million acres.
This month, the Santa Rosa Ranch School will break ground on a new school for the students of the Tohono O’odham Nation. The project includes a new 48,000 square foot school; renovations of an existing building to be used as a maintenance facility; renewable energy generation; and upgraded telecommunication access. Seven Generations Architecture + Engineering (7GAE), a Bodwé company, has contracted with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to provide contract administration, quality assurance, and commissioning services during construction for the school.
Our team has been involved in the Santa Rosa Ranch School project from the beginning – providing oversight to the design process. Now, as the construction begins, our role during construction phase services (CPS) is to ensure that these schools are built to the required codes, specifications, drawings, and federal requirements of the BIA and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).
This work would not be possible without dedicated team members like Rhonda Weber, Quality Assurance Manager, onsite to oversee construction from start to finish. Once construction breaks ground on November 21, 2024, Rhonda will be stationed full-time at the Santa Rosa Ranch School, ensuring that every aspect of the build aligns with the highest standards of safety and quality.
“The world I live in is quality,” says Rhonda. “My job is to make sure the contractor and all the subcontractors are performing their work correctly, because we want to build a safe school for the children, for the staff, and for the community.”
Having Rhonda onsite brings a personal touch to the project as well. Beyond her technical role, she has served as a key connection between the project team, the Tohono O’odham Nation, and the BIA. Rhonda regularly attends community and district meetings, shares progress updates, and works closely with the contractor and community members to address any issues as they arise. Her involvement with the Santa Rosa Ranch School has not only helped move the project forward but has also built trust between our team and the community, as Rhonda approaches each task with a genuine interest in the school’s success.
“I’m not only there representing 7GAE and Bodwé, but I’m also representing myself,” says Rhonda. “Integrity is everything to me because I know how important a project like this is. I want to make sure this school is built to the highest quality because that’s what they deserve.”
The Santa Rosa School project is one of many we have supported in Indigenous communities in the Southwest. Similar to the work we are doing in Sells, AZ, we are providing contract administration with the Crystal Boarding School in Navajo, NM. We have partnered with the BIA to complete 34 facility assessments for the most challenged schools across the country. This led to helping the Indian Affairs rewrite the BIE design guidelines for schools being built for future generations. Finally, we have supported the design of Chi Chil Tah Schools in Vanderwagen, NM, Many Farms High School campus in Many Farms, AZ, and are currently working on the design of Cove Day School in Red Valley, AZ. Behind all of these projects are people like Rhonda going above and beyond to ensure that every school we work on stands as a safe, durable, and welcoming space for future generations.
