Through its BOLD Facilities Plan, Decatur Public Schools worked to create 21st-century learning environments. Johns Hill Magnet School, a K-8 facility, features a 750-seat auditorium, 672-seat gym, Art Alley, Learning Stair, and STEAM Suite for grades 6-8. The school's focus on arts integration and English-Language learner curricula further enhances the student experience.
Photos: O'Shea Builders
- K-8 school
- 750 seat auditorium
- 672 seat gymnasium
- Art alley
- Learning stair
- STEAM suite for 6-8
The team had to create spaces that would spark K-8 students' creativity, despite a tight budget and growing enrollment.
A cutting-edge, arts-focused facility on our existing site, designed to inspire generations of students to discover, nurture, and share their talents and cultural expression with the world.
Student-artists display their masterpieces in the open, accessible gallery for the community, bringing arts directly to the revitalized neighborhood. The alley also serves as an innovative and secure second-floor entry point for staff and the community, helping the flow of traffic for multiple events happening simultaneously.
As a component of the April 2019 referendum, Hixson Middle School was to be expanded so that it could receive the school district’s sixth grade students after another district facility transitioned from a single grade and specialty school to a K-5 elementary school. The current middle school, originally opened in 1955, would require both renovations and building additions to accommodate the increase in student population.
This renovation and new addition project turned into an opportunity to not only unify an outdated and disconnected school building, but also bring unification to a student body and community.
Phase 2 of the Pleasant Plains High School Additions and Remodel serves as an extension of the Phase 1 project, completed in 2012. The second phase completes the expansion of the high school into a 600-student school.