Add as a preferred source on Google

Kentucky District Opens New Elementary School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 08/16/22

Bowling Green Independent Schools in Bowling Green, Ky., recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new elementary facility, Rich Pond Elementary School. Work on the project began about two years ago and continued through the pandemic, according to local news, and also entailed the demolition of the original building to clear space for the new one behind it.

Local news also reports that 830 students attended the first day of school on August 10. “It became a reality that we’re in our new building,” said Principal Derick Marr. “We closed the year out with 77. So we are seeing an exponential amount of growth on this side of the county.”

The district partnered with Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects on the project’s design. The school houses students in grades PreK–5. Each grade has its own pod, according to the firm’s website, and has individual classrooms surrounding a flexible learning area. Second- and third-grade pods are on the first floor and third-, fourth- and fifth-grade pods on the second. The building’s central space will serve as a flexible commons area that will be used as a practice gym and a staging area for students arriving to and departing from school.

The campus gym features a stage and seating for 850 and was also designed to serve as a community tornado shelter. The area can withstand winds of up to 250 mph and can operate independently in terms of HVAC, plumbing and electricity during and after severe weather events.

The building’s second floor also contains a media center overlooking the commons that contains multiple areas of flexible seating and furnishings. The media center contains amenities like a wireless computer lab, a makers space and a story-telling area, according to the project’s website.

“We tried to incorporate the features and the traditions of the old building and brought them into the new with just a facelift,” said Marr. “The history that’s been here was definitely something that we tried to tap into. As you walk through the building, you’re gonna see some things that we worked on. We brought pieces of the old hardwood floor.”

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Tennessee Tech Starts Construction on New ACME Building

    Tennessee Tech University recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Advanced Construction and Manufacturing Engineering (ACME) Building on its campus in Cookeville, Tenn., according to university news. The $89.6-million facility is the second in a recent expansion of the College of Engineering’s buildings on campus. It’s currently scheduled to open at the end of 2028.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • Image credit: O

    Strategic Campus Assessment: Moving Beyond Reactive Maintenance in Educational Facilities

    While campuses may appear stable on the surface, building systems naturally evolve over time, and proactive assessment can identify developing issues before they become expensive emergencies. The question isn't whether aging educational facilities need attention. It's how institutions can transition from costly reactive maintenance to strategic asset management in a way that protects both budgets and communities.

  • Extron, CENTEGIX Partner for Comprehensive School Security Solution

    Professional audiovisual solutions provider Extron recently announced a partnership with CENTEGIX, which provides rapid incident response technology, to integrate two of their top products in the name of school safety.

Digital Edition