The district had two separate schools that served their small, rural student population. Both campuses needed extensive updates and lacked 21st century spaces. The new, smaller single campus school serves the district within a tighter footprint with increased 21st century program space. The design nearly eliminates non-instructional space (hallways, cafeteria, kitchen) and allows for highly collaborative learning studios within an efficient footprint.
The FOREST, RIVER, and MEADOW iconography guide young learners and visitors through the space. The abstracted natural colors and themed graphics create a stimulating and age-appropriate place for students to feel comfortable and connected.
Common spaces allow groups of students to do collaborative and project work adjacent to the primary learning space in which they are assigned. Whole student wrap-around services are located in the common zones to allow convenient access for all students. Outdoor learning spaces are readily accessible to students and faculty. A large, circular outdoor classroom space includes a lawn lecture area, tables and chairs, portable sink for wet lab experiments, and even a giant chess board!
- 11% Less Space for the District to Maintain
- Flexible Spaces and Furniture
- Safety Features
- Secure Entry Sequence
- Project Based Learning
- Innovative Space
- Outdoor Classroom
- Distributive Dining
- Award of Merit, Exhibition of Educational Environments: IASB/IASBO 2019 Conference
The district's two aging schools required immediate, extensive renovations.
The result? A cutting-edge, K-8 school, where nearly every inch fosters collaboration and flexibility in a streamlined footprint.
This renovation and new addition project turned into an opportunity to not only unify an outdated and disconnected school building, but also bring unification to a student body and community.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.
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.