Loyola Academy, a private Jesuit college preparatory school in Wilmette, Ill., recently broke ground on a brand-new, 29,000-square-foot performing arts center. The Loyola Academy Center for the Performing Arts comes with a $25.76-million price tag and will feature flexible indoor and outdoor performance spaces.
Orange County Public Schools, headquartered in Orlando, Fla., has announced that it will open four new campuses this fall. The new facilities include two high schools, one new elementary school, and a K–12 school for students with behavioral disorders.
As K–12 schools gear up to return to in-person learning for the coming school year, one district already has a success under its belt. The Muskego-Norway School District in Muskego, Wis., successfully went in-person, five days a week, for the entire 2020–21 academic year. Our guest today is Tony Spence, the Chief Information Officer for that district. He takes a deep dive into explaining the logistics behind pulling off such a unique feat. He explains what went into creating the district’s plan, committing to it and—most importantly—effectively communicating that plan to students, parents, staff and administrators.
Officials gathered last week on the campus of Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, to break ground on a new alumni center. The building will be the first addition to the campus in 20 years.
Flooring and sports surface solutions provider Tarkett announced this week that it has formed a distribution partnership with Summit Flooring Supply.
On the University of Kentucky Coldstream Research Campus in Lexington, Ky., officials recently broke ground on a new residential village for the campus’ researchers and workforce. The 260-unit, multi-family complex, to be named FIFTEEN51 Apartments, is scheduled to open its doors to residents in spring 2022.
On the campus of the University of Florida in Gainsville, Fla., construction has already begun on the new University of Florida Public Safety Building. The new home of the UF Police Department is intended to enhance visibility on campus and promote accessibility to the public.
The commission that oversees school construction in the State of Ohio recently approved more than $242 million in state funds for the construction of nine new K–12 schools around the state. This figure combines with $208 million in local funds to set up $450 million in Ohio public education construction work.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidelines for COVID-19 prevention in K–12 schools on Friday. The health organization announced that fully vaccinated teachers and students will not be required to wear masks inside school buildings.
With the global pandemic greatly impacting the K–12 learning environment, more schools and districts are pivoting to collaborative learning spaces filled with comfortable, tech-equipped furniture that supports the future-ready learner. For funding help with these projects, districts are turning to one or more of the recently-passed federal stimulus bills.
On the campus of Grove City College in Grove City, Pa., the Henry Buhl Library is in the middle of a $9-million renovation project. The library first opened in 1954 and has not seen any major improvements or construction work since then.
Construction on a new language arts complex recently began at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif. The college is partnering with Sundt Construction, Inc., on the facility.
At UC San Diego, construction is set to begin on a 7-story academic building that will house health and medical programs. The $70-million La Jolla Innovation Center (LJIC) will be located just across the street from the southwest edge of campus. The university cited space concerns within the existing boundaries of its campus, as well as the fact that many of its on-campus buildings require expensive seismic upgrades.
Furnishing solutions company Kimball International has announced a more customer-centric, go-to-market strategy. The strategy launched on July 1 and allows customers access to the company’s full complement of Workplace, Education, and Health brands.
Artificial intelligence solutions company Brain Corp announced recently that Denver Public Schools has selected a series of BrainOS-powered robotics scrubbers to help keep its schools clean and sanitary. The self-driving floor cleaners were manufactured by the Tennant Company, and the school system said it hopes to make use of them to allow facility management employees more time to address other tasks.
The new Wareham Elementary School in Wareham, Mass., is scheduled to open its doors to students in October, months ahead of its original projected opening in January 2022. Officials announced at a meeting in mid-June that construction was so ahead of schedule that the project was on track for completion by Sept. 15.
Audio conferencing solutions company Nureva Inc. recently announced that it has added a Voice Amplification Mode to two of its audio conferencing systems. The addition to the HDL300 and Dual HDL300 systems will support both in-room amplification of the instructor’s voice as well as full-room pickup of other voices in the classroom for the sake of remote students.
Officials from the Del Mar Union School District near San Diego, Calif., gathered at the end of June to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new elementary school. The June 24 event marked the first in-person event for district board and staff since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
Melissa High School in Melissa, Texas, recently completed a 65,000-square-foot expansion in conjunction with the Perkins&Will Dallas studio. The new space includes a new practice gymnasium, an extension of the student union, a new performance theater, and an addition to the fine arts program.
Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for a new School of the Built Environment facility. Once complete, the building will play home to the construction management and architecture and environmental design programs.
Officials at Diné College’s Shiprock south campus in Shiprock, N.M., celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a new, $7.4 million Math and Science Building.