Gilroy High School

Narratives

Educator Narrative

Our District motto “All Means All,” reflects our firm belief that all of our District’s Board, administration, staff and students must be active leaders in the community in order to make it a successful and nurturing one that promotes life long learning.

The School Board and District’s Executive Team meet regularly with the City Council to address issues that are vital to the community, such as growth, traffic, planning, parks, facilities, and joint use opportunities. Numerous partnerships have been established with the City to support students and their families. The District is involved in every aspect of our community including a hugely successful annual agricultural related festival; a community event which raises monies for schools, extracurricular programs, athletics, and community organizations. Many students, parents and staff are involved with this event, which brings more than 125,000 people to our city annually. The District is supported by local service organizations and works collaboratively with the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, a local non-profit foundation and other local agencies and businesses to support and recognize our students and staff.

Communication and parent engagement are vital to the success of students. Our approach to improvement requires everyone to focus on the implementation of several specific interdependent strategies. These strategies reflect the best thinking of staff and community and incorporate research from districts where dramatic improvement in student performance has been achieved.

We are, therefore, extremely pleased with the project and the work done by the architects to assist us in meeting our education goals. From the very inception of this project, the firm understood and embraced our “All Means All” motto and the objective to create a student center that would be a source of pride to the entire community. That commitment was apparent from their inclusion of our students, staff, parents, and community leaders in the planning process. Early in the development process the local festival association partnered with the district in the development of the center and provided a donation of $250,000. Its emblem is featured immediately adjacent to the high school mascot logo at the entrance of the building.

The building itself reflects the voices of our culturally diverse community. The multi-use elements of the building allow for it to be used for all student support services with sixteen offices inside the structure. Additionally, school assemblies, rallies, dances, student registration, recognition events, Board of Education meetings, parent meetings, and special programs make the building a destination nearly every day of the week. This resource also allows the District to invite our community partners to use our spacious and multi-functional building for anything from town hall meetings, to fundraisers, festival meetings and food preparation.

The warm aesthetic elements of the building cannot be praised enough. It is a beautiful structure that is the jewel of our campus. It is a source of immense pride for our students, staff, and community and is truly a visible monument to our “All Means All,” learning philosophy.

What exemplary ideas do the designs contain that enhance learning?

This new Student Services Center provides over 23,000 sf. of conditioned space and 5,000 sf. of exterior covered patio. It provides a center for active student participation including ASB and counseling offices and reinforces campus life.

As part of the planning process, the firm conducted meetings with stakeholders including students, parents, teachers, and community and district leaders. This exercise provided valuable information and created buy in from stakeholders because it provoked a sense of participation and ownership right from the start.

Volume, massing and materials intentionally contrast with the existing buildings to project its special stature. The roof with dramatic cantilevers and extended eaves over the patio give the building a monumental stature. The large overhanging of the roof extends the welcomed shading from the trees into the covered patios that protect students from rain and 100° Fahrenheit temperatures common in this area. This is reinforced by the cantilevered gables over the side entries. The transition from exterior to interior was minimized by reinforcing the full height glazing and bi folding doors to provide a wide comfortable access to the interior. Structural elements pass through the glazed wall glass under the member by design to show the window wall carried no roof load.

The building is located between a classroom wing and gymnasium helping enclose the large open central quad. The glazed “prow” of the dining hall reaches into the courtyard with the roof supported by a “grove” of columns reflecting and complimenting the actual grove of trees just beyond it.

The facility has many sustainable features although CHPS or LEED were not used. These include large insulated skylights and full height dual glazed window walls that provide substantial day lighting. The masonry and concrete construction provides significant solar mass to mediate the wide swings in exterior temperature and reduce the need for mechanical conditioning. The roof overhangs shade nearly 100% of the glazing. The concrete slab on grade in the dining hall was resurfaced and polished to serve as the final floor finish. Since no floor covering was used, there was a reduction in use of flooring materials and adhesives. Additional benefits are the elimination of cleaning or polishing products and future wastes reduction as there will never be need to replace a floor covering or dispose of an old finish. The need for walls and columns was also reduced by using integrally colored exposed concrete masonry and cast in place concrete.

A variety of opportunities are provided for food services with cafeteria style or exterior snack bar windows. Seating for 600 indoors plus an additional 300 under the large overhangs allows the 2000+ student body to share a single lunch period once again reinforcing a communal atmosphere.

As the district’s only high school, the campus serves not only as a center for the community’s preparatory education but as an important symbol for the community at large. It has become a symbol of community enthusiasm and pride and is in great demand as a meeting place for school, community, and civic performances and functions.