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 mjones@1105media.com.

Featured

  • Schools In Focus: Talking Campus Security with Mitch McKinley

    Furnishing the Future: Adaptive Solutions for Modern Learning Spaces

    On this episode of Schools in Focus, we'll talk about the role that classroom furniture plays in creating adaptive, flexible learning spaces. Our guest is Wesley Edmonds, the Director of Workplace, Adaptive Solutions at OFS.

  • Integem Releases New AI-Powered AR Software Platform

    Integem recently announced the release of iPlayer EDU, an AI-powered software platform featuring augmented reality (AR) technology that allows teachers to create immersive educational experiences, according to a news release. The software also includes interactive lessons on a variety of subjects, including planets in the solar system.

  • Quadient Achieves 25,000 Locker Installations Worldwide

    Global automation platform Quadient recently announced that it has acquired Package Concierge, a U.S.-based parcel management solutions provider, according to a news release. The acquisition pushes Quadient over the 25,000-unit milestone of global installations.

  • Rice University to Build New Student Life Complex

    Rice University in Houston, Texas, recently announced that a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Moody Center Complex for Student Life (MCCSL) will take place on May 8, 2025, according to a university news release. The 75,000-square-foot facility was designed by architecture firm Olson Kundig with Page serving as executive architect, and it has an estimated completion date of fall 2027.