The Middle School addition provides a future-focused, collaborative, and student-centered environment, bringing the 6-8th grade experience up to par with the rest of the district facilities. The addition will create efficiencies for district staff as well as students and community members, while also creating a clear separation between the two buildings.
From the exterior, bus traffic, parking and parent drop-off areas will have a new safe and secure configuration. Shared spaces such as band and chorus rooms, the media center, and food service facilities, will be placed along the border of the two buildings to create easy access and efficiencies. By placing these shared spaces along the boundary between middle school and high school, students are able to access these areas directly from their respective schools without having to pass into the other age group areas.
Unsure of whether to remodel their historic middle school, build new on the existing site near their current high school, or build new on a different site, the Maroa-Forsyth School District reached out to get community input via BLDD's community engagement process.
The open and transparent process, complemented by QLEO cost/benefit tool, helped uncover the best approach for their district moving forward while building a strong community vision for the future. The new middle school, attached to the high school, was passionately supported at the polls to approve $30 million in funding.
Through a $100 million bond referendum, the Edwardsville School District can provide 21st century learning environments throughout their facilities.
The district first partnered with BLDD in 2010 to develop a comprehensive facilities assessment and improvement strategy that addressed both immediate challenges and long-term aspirations. This partnership came at a crucial time as the district implemented its “Righting the Ship” initiative, a strategic plan designed to ensure fiscal stability while maintaining educational excellence.
A new Elementary School has been built to replace the outdated, non-functional, and rigid elementary spaces previously housed at Lincoln (3-5) and Washington (PK-2). The unified PK-5 facility implements best-practice education design in an approximately 65,000 s.f. building, creating 15%-20% square footage efficiencies for the district.