California District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

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, and future Pacific Sky School students were in attendance with plastic shovels in hand.

“The sky’s the limit for this school, and the district couldn’t be more excited to break ground on our ninth campus,” said DMUSD Superintendent Holly McClurg. “It’s been long planned for the Pacific Highlands Ranch community, and we appreciate the community’s support and patience through this process.”

The new facility will measure in at 67,000 square feet and have a capacity of 480 students aged K–6. Amenities will include 20 classrooms, dedicated STEAM+ spaces, a combination multipurpose room / innovation center, a blacktop play area, and a sports field. OBR Architecture is the architect of record for the project, and construction will be done by the Erickson-Hall Construction Company.

“It feels like yesterday that the school was just an idea on an oversized page of the facilities master plan,” said DMUSD President Erica Halpern. “It really seemed farfetched at the time, since the district didn’t even own the land. It wasn’t even clear that we wanted to own the land or build a school. But our outreach process illuminated what we’ve always known to be a priority: neighborhood schools.”

The new school is currently scheduled to open to students on Aug. 15, 2022.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.

  • Haws Corporation Marks 120th Anniversary

    Haws Corporation, which provides hydration and emergency safety solutions worldwide, recently announced that the company is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, according to a news release.

  • Minnesota District Converts Middle School into Community Hub

    White Bear Lake Area Schools in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the end of a major renovation project that converted a former middle school into a new centralized district and community hub, according to a news release.