San Diego Unified School District Breaks Ground on Two Modernization Projects

The San Diego Unified School District has officially begun modernization projects on two of its schools: La Jolla Elementary School and John Muir Language Academy. California builders C.W. Driver Companies broke ground on both construction projects last week. Work on both schools will entail renovations of existing buildings as well as the construction of new ones. The architects of record for the project are domusstudio architecture for La Jolla and the Baker Nowicki Design Studio for John Muir.

The work at La Jolla Elementary School (K-5) is scheduled to include upgrading existing permanent buildings and constructing a new two-story classroom and administrative building, a new kindergarten classroom building, a new lunch facility, and a restroom building for the school’s upper athletic field. Modernization of the existing structures includes infrastructure and technology updates, a maker space, outdoor learning areas, and a larger parking lot. An existing kitchen will also be remodeled, and the existing campus administration building will house more classrooms.

John Muir Language Academy Rendering
Photo Credit: domusstudio architecture

At the John Muir Language Academy (K-8), workers will add a new two-story PE locker room and classroom building and a new administration building, as well as expansions of the kindergarten and kitchen facilities. All existing permanent buildings will also be updated.

“C.W. Driver Companies is proud to partner with San Diego Unified School District on the continued updating of its schools throughout the county,” said Keith Kauffman, Project Executive with C.W. Driver Companies. “We will leverage our extensive experience in building education facilities to deliver an engaging, collaborative environment while minimizing the impact of construction on students, faculty and staff.”

The construction at the John Muir Language Academy is expected to last until 2023, while work at La Jolla Elementary School is slated for completion in 2024.

“As the second-largest district in California serving more than 121,000 students in preschool through Grade 12, providing optimized learning environments for our students is a top priority,” said the Chief Facilities Planning and Construction Officer with the San Diego Unified School District, Lee Dulgeroff. “We are confident that C.W. Driver Companies’ modernizations of La Jolla Elementary and John Muir Language Academy will enhance the educational experience and prepare our students for the future.”

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • sapling sprouting from a cracked stone

    Lessons in Resilience: Disaster Recovery in Our Schools

    Facility managers play a pivotal role in how well a school weathers and recovers from a crisis. Whether it's a hurricane, a flood, a tornado, or a man-made event, preparation determines resilience.

Digital Edition