View the photo album for more pictures of this event.

NWRESD Superintendent Dan Goldman and Hillsboro Board Rep. Dorian Russell cut the official grand opening ribbon on Saturday, May 3 at the antkwak Early Learning Center. Photos by Tracey Goldner.

There’s a new early childhood education game in town. To passersby, the gray 50,000-square-foot building on Aloclek Drive in Hillsboro might look unassuming. 

But come closer and you’ll see this building is anything but ordinary. 

Inside the 50,000-square-foot two-story space, you’ll find specially designed classrooms, meeting rooms and indoor and outdoor play areas. 

After two years of construction to retrofit the office building, the doors of the new center officially swung open on Saturday, May 3. Families, young children, educators, board members, community partners, architects and construction managers gathered to celebrate and share the significance of a building like this one. 

Like other counties in Oregon, Washington County is considered a child care desert. That means there are two or more children for every one child care space available. 

“The educators and elected leaders here at Northwest Regional ESD decided together that we were not going to stand passively by and accept this as our reality,” Dan Goldman, superintendent of NWRESD, said during his opening remarks.

A project like this happens because of the culmination of years of partnerships and collaboration with architects, construction teams, project managers and a supportive board, he said. 

Jordan Fell from Inline Construction managed dozens of construction workers and various contractors, Liz Manser from Opsis Architecture worked with a team of architects to design the space based on input from hundreds of people, and Dale Kuykendall and Luke Harkness from Wenaha Project Management set goals, developed timelines and connected everyone. 

“And this community treasure only materialized because we have a board of directors here at NWRESD who is willing to take bold action for kids,” Dan said. 

“That’s the kind of impact this building will have,” they said. It’s why access to services — especially early interventions isn’t just helpful, it’s transformational.”

They shared that NWRESD worked with linguists from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to select the building’s name. 

The name: antkwak (pronounced aunt-KWOK) means frog in the Tualatin dialect of the Northern Kalapuya language and stems from the street name where the building is located: Aloclek Drive. Read more about the history of the name. 

“I have to admit: I low-key love frogs,” Dorian said.

Using oversized scissors, Dan and Dorian cut a bright yellow ribbon and high-fived. Dozens of families streamed through the doors and were greeted with a Pacific Northwest-themed mural of people from all walks of life and all abilities in the entryway. 

From left: Vice-Chair Maureen Wolf (at-large), Dorian Russell (Zone 3 - Hillsboro), Doug Dougherty (Zone 2 - Astoria, Banks, Forest Grove, Jewell, Knappa, Neah-Kah-Nie, Nestucca Valley, Seaside, Tillamook and Warrenton-Hammond), NWRESD Superintendent Dan Goldman, Chris Riley (Zone 1 - Gaston, Sherwood and Tigard-Tualatin), Chair Becky Tymchuk (Zone 1 - Beaverton). Not pictured: Michelle Graham, Paul Jarrell, Miriam Meneses-Rios and Ernest Stephens.

Children and their families enjoyed aguas frescas and pastries and hunted for lily pads outside of rooms with activities just for them. There was a dance party in one of the indoor gyms and carnival games in the other gym. 

They broke in the accessible play structure and ground-level merry-go-round and scooped up water beads in a room filled with adaptive toys and games. 

A toddler takes his first ride down one of the slides on the outdoor playground. 

A preschooler named Isaiah squealed with delight when he ran outside and saw the playground.

“I like it,” he said as he explored the accessible swing. 

The building boasts: 

• 11 large classrooms with natural light, sensory-friendly design and structural amenities such as child-sized toilets and sinks
• An evaluation center specially designed for children with disabilities and their families
• Professional learning spaces for educators and community partners to gather and learn together
• An outdoor playground with a ground-level merry-go-round and a wheelchair accessible play structure and two large indoor gym spaces for rainy days

From left: Jordan Fell (Inline Construction), Luke Harkness (Wenaha Project Management), Liz Manser (Opsis Architecture), Jordan Ely (NWRESD chief financial officer), Dale Kuykendall (Wenaha Project Management), Liwaru (NWRESD equity and family partnerships director), Aaron Sackett (NWRESD technology director), Stuart Long (NWRESD chief information officer) and Todd Hendrickson (NWRESD facilities director)