Henry Sibley High School

Project Snapshot

PROJECT: Henry Sibley High School
LOCATION: Mendota Heights, Minn.
COMPANY NAME: Wenger Corporation
WEBSITE: www.wengercorp.com

THE CHALLENGE

Henry Sibley High School’s media storage room was a mix of old library shelves, second-hand cabinets and a used pegboard. Multiple users and events made organization difficult, as equipment was piled and stacked haphazardly.

Henry Sibley High School

Henry Sibley High School

Prior to the reorganization and addition of equipment cabinets, the media storage room was messy, disorganized and even a bit dangerous. Now, students and staff can find what they need when they need it.

THE SOLUTION

Wenger evaluated the size of the AV storage room and the equipment being stored before making recommendations. Then Wenger provided a variety of fixed and mobile media storage cabinets designed to accommodate every piece of AV equipment.

Three models of fixed cabinets were installed — standard, rackmount and organizer — with a variety of shelves, drawers and options. The organizer model features a wire grid inside the door and back panel designed to accommodate hooks, and other accessories: baskets, cable minders, mic stand holders and CD racks.

“Our new cabinet solution is night and day better than what we had before,” declares Dann Hurlbert, AV specialist & Film Studies instructor. “The cabinets are beautiful and really help keep the room looking clean.”

The room still contains the same equipment as before, but everything is organized in designated locations and out of sight. Space utilization also improved dramatically.

IMPACT ON LEARNING

Organizing and safeguarding all this valuable equipment helps ensure it will be available and operational when needed throughout the school. AV equipment represents a sizable investment, often acquired over multiple budget years. Hurlbert appraises HSHS’ inventory at more than $50,000, including two LCD projectors, four speakers, a mixer and “lots of little things that add up.”

He sees a growing proliferation of AV equipment today — equipment components are becoming smaller and more numerous. This makes organization more challenging, and more essential.

Editor's Review

We often do not realize that AV equipment can become unwieldy and take up many square feet of storage space. In the changing education environment, with the need for alternative learning spaces, etc., using available space in an efficient manner is always welcome. In this instance, the school administrators were able to better utilize the storage space, provide a more secure storage arrangement for expensive equipment and, as a bonus, by having it so much better organized, free up students’ and teachers’ time for longer instruction and rehearsals.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.

  • Girl Sitting at Library Desk, Using Laptop

    How Campus Design Shapes the Finals Week Experience

    Academic performance is not just about preparation. It is closely tied to how students manage stress, maintain their energy, and shift between work and recovery modes. Much of that is influenced, directly or indirectly, by design.

  • University of Pittsburgh to Build New Residence Hall

    The Board of Trustees from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently approved the construction of a new residence hall for first-year students, according to university news.

  • From Approval to Opening: Inside Travis Unified School District’s Fast Tracked Campus Expansion

    The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) in northern California includes several elementary and high schools serving over 5,400 students. In 2024, the TUSD Board approved the addition of sixth grade to the Golden West Middle School campus for the 2025–26 school year, setting in motion an accelerated effort to bring new facilities online in less than a year.