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

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.