Technically Speaking

The primary objectives of the project are to promote a sense of community within the school and foster relationships with industry partners thus assisting students with the difficult task of career choices.

Similar in theory to small learning communities, the individual buildings are designed to take full advantage of “project based” learning which the District plans to implement. Students will remain within their academy a majority of the day with the exception of Lunch and Physical Education, thereby providing a college atmosphere.

Within each academy an interior corridor is the forum for gathering, sharing, and encouraging communication. From the corridor, views in the classrooms and lab spaces make learning visible while reinforcing connections and excitement to the specific industry vocation. The need for larger instructional spaces prompted the Design Team to provide a theoretical space directly adjacent and open to the practical “hands on” lab areas. Multipurpose classrooms augment the academy for Math, English, History and Science by providing instructional space to complete the “project based” learning environment. Centralized work areas for teachers afford them the opportunity to collaborate in curriculum integration.

With the abundance of natural and free sunlight, light shelves on the exterior of the walls were designed to bounce the sun’s rays as far back into the spaces as possible. The Design Team’s objective was to provide 25 foot candles of natural day lighting whereby reducing the need for artificial light. By reducing the amount of sunlight entering the space, the amount of glare is reduced thus providing a more comfortable teaching environment

The Design Team and the School District arranged workshops with Business and Industry partners to collaborate in current and future requirements of career and technical education. The results of the workshops provided the Design Team the insight to develop a program of academies focusing on specific vocations.