Work Group Meeting Updates

July 9, 2018

About 15 members attending the working session with the Board of Education on June 26. Attendees compiled the questions generated by the Board at that meeting, which were shared with the work group. The group also reviewed identified facilities priorities before discussing what seem to be the best elements of the concepts presented to the Board in June. Finally, over the course of the past year, different team members have become subject-matter experts in various areas; tonight several gave short informational presentations to educate the rest of the work group.

June 26, 2018

The Board held a public meeting for the Imagine team and consulting architects to begin discussions of potential recommendations for a long-term facilities master plan. Imagine shared two concepts, based on the past nine months of intensive research and stakeholder input. Click the links below to see the information that was presented:

• Background memo

• "Navy blue" concept

• "Burnt orange" concept

Based on Board members' feedback and questions, Imagine will present a single refined concept by early fall (public meeting date and time to be announced). At that time, estimated costs for components of the plan as well as potential phasing of the plan will be presented for discussion. The concept will be further refined after that meeting and presented to the public for input this fall. The goal is for Imagine to make its recommendations to the Board for a long-term facilities master plan later in fall 2018.

June 4, 2018

Work group members identified facilities topics about which they wanted more information from fellow members who had focused on those topics. The work group discussed the May community engagement meetings, made further refinements to priority clustering from the May 7 meeting, and discussed preparations for the June 26 discussion with the Board of Education. 

May 7, 2018

The work group discussed preparations for the May 19 and 21 community engagement sessions. The large group then broke into smaller groups comprising members from each team and collaborated on clustering identified needs by priority.

April 2, 2018

Teams reviewed and provided feedback on a series of conceptual drawings prepared by consulting architects from Perkins + Will. The drawings will be shared with the public at the April 16 community engagement meeting.

March 5, 2018

Teams broke into small groups comprising members from each team. Using markers and chart paper, they talked through major facility issues they each had identified during the research phase, then worked on conceptual diagrams to begin broadly defining priorities. 

Feb. 5, 2018

The work group meeting focused on preparing for the Feb. 27 community engagement session. The event is planned to be a "speed dating" type of event, where community members will rotate through four stations, one for each work group team. Each station will feature posters summarizing that team's major findings from the past six months of research and focus groups. At the work group meeting, teams critiqued first drafts of one another's posters. 

Jan. 8, 2018

The four Imagine subgroups reported out on their insights and impressions from their research to date, as well as their plans for wrapping up their data gathering. The work group signed up for site visits to several area high schools that have undergone significant facilities work in recent years. The group discussed the work ahead for the next six months, including faculty/staff and student surveys and focus groups to be conducted in January and early February.

Nov. 20, 2017

Members who were able to attend the Nov. 15 community engagement session shared some of the feedback they heard at their tables. (A full report on the input gathered that evening will be forthcoming.) A representative of Perkins + Will, the consulting architecture firm for Imagine, reprised the community presentation on future-ready learning spaces and discussed the master planning process. The group discussed site visits to peer schools that recently have done major facilities renovations and/or additions; these will be arranged to take place in January. 

  

Oct. 23, 2017

The four Imagine subgroups reported out on their initial research, emphasizing that much more needs to be done in the coming weeks. Groups have created detailed spreadsheets to capture the facilities that fall into their purview, current capacity of these areas, and anticipated future needs. Detailed and ongoing interviews with faculty and staff will reveal more information. Nearly all Imagine members took a scheduled tour of the building at least once, and some visited multiple times. Some themes that appear to be emerging and will be examined further include:

• Classrooms in general: The flexible furnishings that have replaced old-style desks in many classrooms are much more conducive to student collaboration and teachers like them. However, they take up more room, and many classrooms are too small to accommodate them comfortably.

• Specific classroom areas:  Science classrooms need to be reconfigured to improve safety. Special Education classrooms are cramped and need more space for equipment; many areas of the building do not accommodate wheelchairs. Fine and applied arts have too many dysfunctional spaces and obsolete equipment, with issues of accessibility, adequacy, and safety.

• Teacher offices: Some teachers prefer having their own classrooms, while others are finding they like the collegiality of cubicle pods, though the lack of privacy for student meetings is a problem.

• Athletic/Physical Education areas: Too many spaces are outdated, overcrowded, inaccessible, inflexible, and lacking in storage.

Sept. 11, 2017

The meeting was led by Imagine OPRF co-chairs Lynn Kamenitsa and Mike Poirier. Both Lynn and Mike are community members who were active around last fall's bond referendum question. Lynn served as the campaign manager for the Vote Yes group, while Mike was a leading member of Pragmatic Pool Solutions, which advocated voting no.

Prior to the meeting, work group members received their assignment to one of four teams: Academics/Student Achievement, Athletics/Extra-curricular, Performing & Fine Arts, and Physical Condition/Safety & Security. Lynn and Mike gave an overview of the Work Team Roadmap, which provides a timeframe and suggested guiding questions for the teams.

The bulk of the meeting was a work session for the teams to introduce themselves, choose chairs, and begin creating a list of information and resources needed during this first, intensive research phase of Imagine OPRF.

Aug. 26, 2017, Orientation

The work group convened for introductions, presentations on the history of facilities work at the high school and the work ahead for Imagine OPRF, a description of the teams into which the work group will be pided, and a Q and A. 

• Click here for the presentation PowerPoint.

• Imagine OPRF members were charged with keeping racial equity at the forefront as they conduct fact-finding and develop facilities options. Click here for the racial equity lens that was provided as a framing document.

• Each member received a binder with a collection of foundational background documents.