It’s been more than seven years since the Upper Arlington community came together to plan a new upgrade for the school district. Three years of construction, a $230 million bond and a global pandemic later, both the Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights school districts’ renovation projects are wrapping up and gearing up to house new education epicenters.
Upper Arlington renovated five elementary schools and built a new high school, which was completed and officially opened for the 2021-2022 school year. Grandview Heights renovated Larson Middle School and its new high school will be completed by December.
“You didn't want new buildings with 1950s instruction in them,” says Keith Pomeroy, chief academic officer for Upper Arlington Schools. “The innovation within the space should allow for innovation within the instruction. So it was an intentional decision that we should be taking advantage of the opportunities that the space would provide.”
From the beginning, the schools went into their respective projects with the core ideas of flexible spaces, natural light and technology. One of the biggest adjustments is the use of collaborative spaces, common areas designed to let students flow out from the traditional classroom setting to foster collaboration on studies and projects. These spaces can be accessed from the classrooms through large garage doors, and students can come together across different classes and grades.
The ideas for the spaces were generated based off the feedback of both students and staff. This was key for Andy Hatten, the associate superintendent of learning and leadership for Upper Arlington.
“I think where we're really starting to see that change is in those collaborative spaces, the way that things are being used,” Hatten says. “Teachers were allowed the freedom to experience and experiment with the space and how it might impact group learning, individual learning, stations, and the use of time.”
This ability to flow has extended to lunch time as well. Upper Arlington High School has foregone a traditional lunch room, and now features Golden Bear Boulevard, a three-story hallway the width of two football fields. With multiple points to buy food, the students are free to spread out and eat on all three floors.
Golden Bear Boulevard serves another purpose: connecting the academic wing of the building to the performing arts and athletic lane. Students participating in extracurricular activities have access to several new spaces including a field house with three basketballs courts, a swimming pool, a black box theater and a performing arts center. There’s also a two-story learning center for students to use as a meeting space for their clubs and to study.
These larger spaces allowed the renovations to utilize large windows and make use of natural light. The bigger layout was an added benefit for Upper Arlington when the building first opened while the district was still under pandemic restrictions.
“We had to space people out in spaces we've never been in before and just learn all those logistics,” Hatten says. “Initially getting into the buildings, sometimes you just have to learn how to live in them with hundreds of students and staff. Just learning the logistics of how the hallways are going to flow, the lunches, how they're going to work.”
The shift back to a normal school day from remote learning was guided by the new buildings’ use of technology. This was intentional to keep things the same for everyone, says Chris Deis, chief tech officer for Grandview Heights.
“When you have decades and decades of building and adjustments and replacements, you end up with a very eclectic mix of technology utilized around the district,” Deis says. “You go to an old building and you've got this in this room, you have that in that room, and it all works differently. Now every room is very consistent.”
The classes make use of big, easy-to-read displays, TV screens and sound systems that filter throughout the room. Teachers have access to pendant microphones to help students who need audio support, including those with hearing impairments.
“The consistency as far as being able to go into any classroom and know how it works because they're all the same, that's a little thing that's huge,” Deis says. “Whether a teacher or student, it just works.”
The new renovations were designed to keep up with a new era of education for both students and staff.
“The way in which (students) learn and process has changed,” says Grandview Heights Superintendent Andy Culp. “We wanted our environment, through form and function, to support how kids are learning and teachers are teaching.”
The hope is that these buildings can pave the way for education for years to come.
“These are meant to be very efficient, well-designed buildings that can be flexible to meet the needs of learners,” Hatten says. “We will be the people who use the buildings the least over time. So in terms of building legacy and building for the future, our goal was to build spaces for the learners and the staff members, the professionals of the future, 20 years from now, 30 years from now.”
Lindsey Capritta is a contributing writer for CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
