Photo courtesy of Upper Arlington City Schools
With an aging infrastructure, Upper Arlington City School District was looking for a major update. While options for repairs and maintenance of the existing problems were explored, ultimately, the plan’s cost was far too high. The district would have to continue working in the current conditions – or do something radical.
“All of the internal systems were pretty much reaching the end of life. We were getting to the point where we’re going to have to open up the walls to redo the plumbing and electric,” says Karen Truett, UACSD director of communications. “What the experts told us was, if it’s done in a piecemeal function, it’ll be the most expensive way of repairing the problems.”
In 2015, the community came together to help craft a long-term, financially sustainable plan to combat the aging buildings and also implement a much-needed update to the district’s space and resources.
Community members volunteered at all nine school buildings and met several times to go over third-party assessments and share feedback. In November 2017, a $230 million bond was passed.
The first phase is well underway. Soon the district will be home to a new high school. Five of the elementary schools will also receive vital facelifts.
Updating Learning Spaces
While it still may be hard to see the end result through the construction progress, the final product will be an important update to the general makeup of the school. Naturally, the new high school is the focal point of the project.
“The classic model of the school with the narrow hallways and the classroom off of it is what worked really great in industrial times. (Now,) the kids need to collaborate,” Truett says. “We will soon have more space for our students, adequate in some cases, and these environments are going to allow our teachers to provide new ways of educating that they simply can’t do right now.”
The school board and community made it evident that the updated learning environments were necessary for the continued success of UA students. While it will certainly help to accommodate the growing student body, these updates will also expose students to environments and resources that will benefit them in college and the working world.
“All these learning environments are very open and flexible. It’s exciting,” Truett says. “We are doing the absolute best to build buildings that 60 years from now will work for whatever education looks like then.”
Did you know? Upper Arlington’s enrollment has grown 10 percent over the last 10 years. Within the next 10 years, growth will exceed an additional 20 percent (1,250 students).
The newer designs will help encourage collaboration across the school and help expand what students and faculty are capable of learning and teaching. Science labs, for example, are a big improvement that administrators look forward to completing.
“If you walked into one of our labs now, they are very outdated, it’s like a time machine. Kids are taking their labs in the hallway because of lack of space,” Truett says. “Once everything is all up to date, we can really go full throttle with STEM and robotics.”
Moving Along
All projects are moving along and remain on budget and on schedule – a message that Upper Arlington City Schools wants to reiterate. As of early February, the construction has moved more to the inside of the buildings as framework for classrooms and hallways start to take shape.
Tremont Elementary recently opened the doors to new modular classrooms and attention will soon shift to the demolition of the current Windermere building as well. By fall, Greensview and Wickliffe and the renovated Tremont elementary schools will also open.
By fall 2022, all projects in the first phase of the community-developed master plan will be complete.
“It’s exciting for the community because they are finally seeing things coming out of the ground and coming to life,” UACSD Chief Operating Officer Chris Potts says.
A group of The Ohio State University students recently toured the sites after spending time studying the structural engineering behind the project. The entire process has become a learning experience for the community.
“In this community, there has been such a strong support on education for the first century of its existence,” Truett says. “We now feel we are in the position to begin paying it forward.”
Construction continues at Greensview Elementary School.
A Look Ahead
June 2020: Windermere demolition begins. The old Wickliffe Elementary School will serve as a transition space for students in 2020-2021 school year.
Fall 2020: Greensview, Wickliffe and the renovated Tremont Elementary School open.
Fall 2021: New Upper Arlington High School, Windermere and Barrington will be completed and opened to students.
Fall 2022: New high school site and first phase of community-developed master plan will be complete.
Rocco Falleti is an editor. Feedback welcome at rfalleti@cityscenecolumbus.com.
