John Hay High School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

This high school renovation is the first in the district to preserve its historic character, meet green building standards and is fully equipped for learning in the 21st century. Subdivided into three specialty schools in one building — one for each floor and operating independently. The unique and innovative program gives students the opportunity to partner with area universities and businesses to enhance workforce education.

Community Engagement:
The Program for the renovation project was developed as a collaboration with the School District; community groups; leaders in education, design and business sectors; and alumnae to provide specialized learning environments. These environments provide students with both general and focused educational programs capitalizing on partnerships with select groups. The high school is subdivided as three small specialty schools, which function in direct interaction with their respective partnership groups through classroom instruction, and applied experience beyond the classroom environment.
1. Architecture & Design School: partnership with an organization that is a collaboration of two local universities and the local design community.
2. Business & Entrepreneurial School: conceived as partnership with
local universities, and the regional business community with emphasis on research, design, marketing and implementation.
3. Biomedical and Science School: partnership with regional medical and health communities.

Learning Environment:
The intent for the “school-within-a-school” educational model is to provide the students with both core curriculum education, as well as focused education within their respective area of interest. The focused instruction will be provided in conjunction with individuals from the respective partnership within the classroom environment and in the actual workplace. A complete integration of classroom learning and workplace application is envisioned, with internship opportunities for the students beyond the school day/year. The existing 4-story building is subdivided into small focus schools, typically by floor. Each school has their own independent administrations, educators and educational spaces. The common elements such as student dining, media center, gym, auditorium are shared among the three schools and are located throughout the structure to allow the students to interact and establish relationships with students of all of the small schools.

Physical Environment/Sustainability:
The original wood windows have been replaced with new operable energy-efficient window systems. Original skylight structures, covered during World War II, have been redeveloped to provide daylighting while eliminating heat gain and glare issues that plagued the original skylight systems. On the interior, historically significant elements and areas of the building have been restored, while reconfiguring the remaining areas of the facility to provide high performance environments with respect to educational delivery, technology, energy efficiency, and environmental sensitivities.

Planning Process:
The Community Engagement process, utilizing a grant from KnowledgeWorks Foundation, was structured around a Core Team of the key representatives of Community and Educational stakeholders. The school is located within the Art and Museum District of the city, serving the entire city, and as such the Design Team, School District and Core Team Members worked with broad portions of the Community to inform, solicit input, and develop support for the new programming and project.

The Past Meets 21st Century Learning: An Educator's Perspective

A landmark neoclassical-style urban high school situated in the heart of a city’s cultural and scientific community closed its doors in 2001 for extensive renovation. This historic site which shaped the lives of generations emerged transformed in 2006 as a state of the art educational facility designed to honor the past and serve the needs of 21st century learners. Innovative in every way, the renovation design process was driven by a unique educational concept with small schools, high expectations for student performance, substantive community partnerships, shared governance and academic rigor at the center of its vision.

Inspired by the collaborative vision of community leaders and an urban school district, three innovative small high schools were conceived. A school of architecture and design emerged as the result of extensive work with a renowned art museum, university, AIA, and local cultural institutions. The museum collection is the basis for instruction with art and design concepts integrated into all classes. Students apply design principles to a study of the school building and local architecture. A school of science and medicine was founded to promote advanced study of mathematics and sciences in partnership with two prominent hospitals and a prestigious graduate school of medicine, all located adjacent to the school campus. The third is an accelerated college prep school where students graduate from high school in three years with a diploma and college credits. All students enjoy distance learning, technology in every classroom, off-campus internships and learning experiences in an environment where every child is known and valued.
All three schools promote interdisciplinary instruction, project-based learning and relevant application of knowledge to the real world. Like a university, each small school may be viewed as a “college” with its own focus and its own designated space within the “campus.” To promote a university-like culture, students share common areas such as the grand entrance foyer, magnificent auditorium, student dining room with skylights and state-of-the art fine arts areas and science laboratories.

The building’s high energy efficiency rating and environmentally friendly systems contributed to the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) designating the school as its Legacy School. There will be ongoing study of the school’s energy efficiency and integration of renewable and sustainable energy concepts into the curriculum. A solar panel will be installed and used as a focal point for student research, problem-solving and application of environmental and sustainable energy concepts to real world situations.

A focal point in the community, the building attracts daily visitors; neighbors, alumni or passers-by who recognize and appreciate the aesthetic value of this magnificent structure. The building continuously hosts alumni events, theatrical presentations, community forums, corporate meetings and other activities. The positive impact of a first class learning environment on students is evident through the extreme cleanliness of the school, and the absence of any graffiti or vandalism.

This renovation project continues to serve as an extraordinary example of true integration of form, function and design into a quality educational program.