Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Nebraska to Open Boys Town Education Center

  • By Matt Jones
  • 09/05/23

The village of Boys Town, Neb., recently announced that the Boys Town Education Center has opened its doors to students in time for the fall 2023 semester, a news release reports. The town is a National Historic Landmark and serves as the headquarters of Boys Town, one of the largest non-profit childcare organizations in the U.S. Boys Town partnered with DLR Group for the building’s planning, design, and construction.

The new facility has a capacity for 450 students in grades 4–12. The site of the campus was previously occupied by Boys Town High School, which was built in 1948. The new facility marks the first time that elementary-, middle-, and high-school students enrolled in the program can come together underneath one roof.

“The new Boys Town Education Center is designed to support all types of learners through a variety of different learning environments, from one-on-one spaces to larger learning commons,” said Vanessa Schutte, AIA, ALEP, Principal and K–12 Education Leader with DLR Group. “Boys Town serves many at-risk students who have endured trauma. For this reason, DLR Group integrated trauma-informed design principles throughout the design of the school, providing the appropriate level of privacy, ease of visibility, and connection to nature. Our priority is to create spaces that respect and support each individual’s needs.”

The facility stands three stories and measures in at 110,000 square feet, according to the news release. Its exterior pays tribute to previous historic Boys Town facilities through brick patterns and the original Boys Town mural. The interior features “exceptionally adaptive” spaces that meet the learning needs of students of a variety of backgrounds and ages. It also offers a STEM-focused curriculum and activities to prepare students for careers in different industries.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.