Parents Jessica and Tony Flores toured the new $13.4 million Charter School of the Dunes Early Learning Center Friday and can’t wait for their children to begin their education careers inside.“We’re real excited,” said Jessica Flores. “We never saw the inside of a classroom before today.”Their son, Zander, 7, will be in first grade while their two younger children will be in kindergarten and Pre-K.Charter School of the Dunes Early Learning Center instructional coach and AD Lemora Cruz, on left, speaks with kindergarten teacher Martine Bullock during a celebration of the school’s opening on Friday, June 21, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)School officials snipped a ribbon Friday, marking the center’s official opening and then led guests on tours of the single-story building that includes 16 classrooms, central administration offices, and a new space for the after-school care program.It has a capacity for about 350 students The school, at 7300 Melton Road in Gary’s Miller neighborhood, also has electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot.Colorful murals depicting children playing along a beach cover decorate both the north and south sides of the school. Crossmark Printing Inc., of Crown Point, created the murals. Above the front door is the school’s compass logo with a sandy beach in the center.Charter School of the Dunes board president Tom Cera speaks during a grand opening celebration for the Charter School of the Dunes Early Learning Center on Friday, June 21, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)Students return for classes Aug. 12, but new kindergarten teacher Martine Bullock is already setting up her classroom.“I am very excited. This is a wonderful opportunity,” said Bullock who reports with other teachers Aug. 5. She said her young students will follow a play-based curriculum that uses manipulatives to teach kids math skills and other learning skills.The Early Learning Center sits west of the school built in 2012 that previously housed K-8. Now, it will focus on grades 3-8.Charter School of the Dunes superintendent Justin Stok, right, greets visitors during a grand opening celebration for the organization’s Early Learning Center in Gary on Friday, June 21, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)Superintendent Justin Stok said school officials felt the new building represented the best use of the charter’s COVID-19 federal relief money from the Elementary Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.Tom Cera, president of the school board, said the Early Learning Center has been a dream for a long time. He said officials double-checked to make sure the school’s construction was an appropriate use of its relief funding.“We wanted to capture community children as soon as possible to teach them to read and to learn,” he said.Charter School of the Dunes Early Learning Center Pre-K teacher Genny Powell shows her curriculum to visitors to her room during a celebration of the school’s opening on Friday, June 21, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)He said teachers have worked with some students who are one or two years behind as they begin school and if they’re struggling with reading, other academics suffer.“There’s a distinct benefit to starting early,” Cera said.Abigail Kennedy, who was assistant principal, takes over as principal at the Early Learning Center. She said that to familiarize herself more with Pre-K studies, she completed an online early learning certification course at Harvard.Kennedy said the school signifies “a milestone for our community and a place where young minds will grow and flourish.”The new building will include a secure entrance, student dining, a media center and a multipurpose gym. It will also be the hub for the after-school activities.Performance Services, Inc., a K-12 design and construction company, oversaw the project with local partners Wightman and Hasse construction companies.Charter School of the Dunes first opened its doors in 2003 at the former Naval Reserve Center off Lake Street near Lake Michigan. It began construction on its new $12.4 million school building in 2012.Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.