Illinois Junior High Plans Expansion into Full Middle School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 08/01/23

A junior high school in Illinois recently announced that construction has begun to expand its facility into a full-service, modern middle school, according to a news release. Plum Grove Junior High School in Palatine, Ill., currently serves about 800 students in seventh and eighth grade. Local voters approved a $93-million referendum last November that will allow the Community Consolidated School District 15 (CCSD 15) to begin work on an expansion to house the district’s sixth graders. Completion is scheduled in time for the beginning of the 2024–25 academic year.

Additions to the school are set to include two new academic wings of three classrooms each. Each wing will contain a learning commons area, a central collaboration space, science labs, and active-learning classrooms. Other updates to the campus will include new paving, a track, and outdoor play areas, the news release reports.

“We’re extremely excited to begin implementing our Moving 15 Forward plan in order to address District 15’s highest priority educational and school facility needs,” said CCSD 15 Superintendent Dr. Laurie Heinz. “By upgrading and transitioning Plum Grove into a modern middle school, we will be able to better address the unique needs of our adolescent learners and ensure readiness for high school by enhancing their educational experience and extending the time in which they spend with other adolescent learners.”

The district is partnering on the project with Wold Architects and Engineers. The renovated Plum Grove Middle School will make use of the house concept to create teams of teachers who share students during the school day.

“We are honored to be a part of this project and are grateful for our ongoing partnership with Community Consolidated School District 15,” said Wold Architects and Engineers associate architect and principal-in-charge, Mike Eichhorn, AIA. “As a local firm, we pride ourselves on supporting the communities in which we live and work and look forward to the positive impact Plum Grove Middle School will have on students for generations to come.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Kimball Showroom Earns WELL Certified Platinum Distinction

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced that its showroom in New York City has achieved WELL Certification at the Platinum level as dictated by the International WELL Building Institute, according to a news release. The certification demonstrates a continuing commitment to creating environments that promote health, well-being, and productivity.

  • ClassVR headsets

    Avantis Education Revamps Hardware for ClassVR Solution

    Avantis Education recently announced the launch of two new headsets for its flagship educational VR/AR solution, ClassVR. According to a news release, the Xcelerate and Xplorer headsets expand the company’s offerings into higher education while continuing to meet the evolving needs of K–12 users.

  • Midland ISD Starts Construction on Two New High Schools

    The Midland Independent School District recently announced that it will break ground on two new high schools in Midland, Texas, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Pfluger Architects, Lee Lewis Construction, and Satterfield & Pontikes to create a total of over 1.5 million square feet for 8,400 students in grades 9–12.

  • Enjoy Tax and Energy Savings with the Right Ceiling Solutions

    Thanks to recent innovations pairing mineral fiber ceiling panels with phase change material technology (PCM), architects, designers, facility managers, and other key players in construction and renovation projects are re-thinking the role ceilings play in supporting environmental objectives—especially energy savings.

Digital Edition