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State-of-art high school opens as first link of $56M campus
By LINDA M. LINONIS
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Richard Buchenic, superintendent of Hubbard School District, stands near a second-floor window in the new Hubbard High School, which looks out over the new construction. School starts Sept. 1 at the $20 million state-of-the-art high school, which includes three computer labs and 245 new computers.
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The gym at the new high school features maple hardwood flooring and stadium seating for 1,800 people. The gym can be converted into three separate areas with electric curtains.
linonis@vindy.com
HUBBARD
Community input helped form the design plan for the new kindergarten- through 12th-grade school complex on Hall Avenue.
The new state-of-the-art high school starts classes Sept. 1; an open house will be Aug. 29. Construction of new elementary and middle schools comes next.
Richard Buchenic, superintendent, and Lucille Esposito, assistant superintendent, said the district received a tremendous response to an extensive survey in the community about what was important in the school complex. Students, teachers, parents, board of education members, the chamber of commerce, residents and local organizations voiced ideas at community meetings.
“From an academic standpoint, it’s cutting-edge technology,” Buchenic said of the new school. “It truly is a gift to the community and a community decision.”
Esposito seconded that, noting the new high school is “state of the art” and “will be heavenly for students and teachers.”
Both educators said the new high school will offer students access to technology and provide a setting for learning that will contribute to their future success.
Esposito said even the color schemes in the school were chosen with psychology in mind. “Calm colors like terra cotta and shades of brown are welcoming and help students be calm and learn,” she said.
The media center (library) will offer comfortable seating and wireless access.
Though construction workers now walk the halls of the schools and construction vehicles fill the access points around the school, Buchenic assures all that the school will be ready on the first day of school for the 688 ninth- through 12th-graders. The freshmen class of 2014 will be the first to go through the school from ninth through 12th grades.
“The school will meet the needs of all kids and their interests,” Esposito said.
Buchenic pointed out the band room offers new equipment and enhanced sound; physical education classes and sports programs will have access to the workout and weight rooms; and 21st-century science labs will benefit advance-placement classes in biology, chemistry and others.
The superintendent said suggestions from teachers were valued in the design. Because of this, science labs have tables for experiments and regular classroom desks. Computers line the outside rim of the computer labs, each of which measuring about 1,500 square feet, so teachers can easily monitor students at work. Regular classrooms have 900 square feet.
Opening of the new high school completes the first phrase of construction. The Hubbard building project is unusual in that a new school building went up and the old one will come down afterward to make way for the middle school. Special panels will connect the new high school to the new middle school, which will connect to a new elementary school. Students and teachers won’t have to leave the extended building to access another section.The design also provides more security and protection from the weather. There also will be safeguards to protect the integrity of each section.
By 2012, Buchenic said, Hubbard K-12 students will be attending state-of-the-art facilities all on one campus. “This is a better use of space and resources,” said Buchenic, who has 42 years of experience in education. He credited school directors of the past, who had the foresight to buy 67 acres of property on Hall Avenue for future use.
Though students will have the advantage of the modern technology, the legacy of the past will be preserved. Buchenic said a stone arch from Roosevelt Elementary will eventually be placed on the walkway of the main entrance to the high school.
HUBBARD HIGH SCHOOL | WHAT'S INSIDE?
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house is scheduled at 2 p.m. Aug. 29 at the new Hubbard High School, 350 Hall Ave., Hubbard. At 2 p.m. Aug. 28, there will be a social gathering as demolition of the old high school begins. School starts Sept. 1.
Cost: Cost of the new high school is $20 million and overall cost is $56 million for the high school, middle school and elementary school. Ohio School Facilities Commission, which administers the state’s comprehensive kindergarten- through 12th-grade public school construction program, is paying for 68 percent of the cost; local funds, the remainder.
Space: 113,000 square feet.
Classrooms: 40 classrooms feature smart boards, white boards, which replace chalk boards; ergonomically constructed desks and chairs; access to more online resources and digital retrieval system; all wireless; and natural lighting.
Computers: There are 245 new computers for student and teacher use with 19-inch screens and no towers.
Special features: Three computer labs; video production labs; state-of-the-art science labs; geothermal heating and cooling; media center with wireless access; 100-foot-wide-by-134-foot-long gym with 1,800 seats, maple hardwood flooring and stadium seating that can be converted into three separate areas; sound-enhanced band room; automatic sensor lighting throughout the building; internal and external security systems; workout and wrestling room; state-of-the-art weight room; and land lab in a wooded area on school property.
Source: Superintendent’s office