Medina High School & Community Center

Narratives

Architect Narrative

LEAD APPLICANT NARRATIVE

The High School is a vibrant cultural center—a national model that reaches far beyond the traditional concept of school/community partnerships. Planning focused on the development of a school culture and educational vision that would respond to carefully defined, community-based values.

Values-Based Partnerships

Originally constructed for 1,200 students, the school’s student population was projected to reach as high as 2,400. The School District began planning to accommodate this growth by defining a set of community values rather than simply identifying diverse facility goals. Residents consistently voiced interest in “community unity,” which was central to the determination that the City would modernize and expand its high school, rather than build a second high school. Values also included: fostering a personalized education, equity, long-term solutions, frugality and value, and community involvement.

These values drove the school’s evolution as a broad-based community cultural and recreation center. Seven key themes became focal points for the planning process:

*School Culture—defined expectations, living together as a community, history, and vision
*Personalized Learning Communities—academic houses, adult mentoring, personalized learning
*Teaching and Learning—integrated curriculum, varied learning, time for reflection
*Technology—varied media, distance learning, integral to instruction
*Connections and Transitions—family interaction, university collaboration, community partnerships, life-long learning
*Public Engagement—a gathering place, ongoing community dialogue
*Professional Development—ongoing teacher education, evaluation, and support

Connections and Transitions

Active partnerships with families, post-secondary service providers, community agencies, employers, and the community-at-large were vital to the school’s success:

*A new community/recreation center, reflecting a partnership with the City and the Local Hospital, became a cornerstone of the project. Residents use the city-operated center daily, and the hospital offers wellness education and physical rehabilitation programs. Students consult with hospital staff on health and fitness, and access hospital-owned equipment and information resources.

*The performing arts center includes a 1,200-seat new “Main Street Theater,” a renovated 400-seat “Little Theater,” a drama classroom, and a black box theater. A partnership with the County Performing Arts Foundation has created many opportunities for students to interact with the community in productions.

*The State University offers classes at the school, and operates a distance learning lab.

*Public Cable Access TV operates a TV production studio at the school, with student involvement and support.

*The County Public Library has plans to use the media center as a public facility. Currently the media center offers multimedia information access and hosts student gatherings and community meetings.

Personalized Learning Communities

Smaller learning communities offer a student-focused, personalized education. Students are divided into four multi-grade, 600-student houses. Two houses compose one “neighborhood.” Each house has its own core academic areas, with a dedicated staff. Students remain in their houses all four years, and share centrally located art, music, technology education, consumer science, and physical education facilities. This careful configuration of space and resources offers the benefits of a small-school environment along with expansive public facilities that only a larger school can offer.

Educator Narrative

EDUCATOR NARRATIVE

Our planning and decision-making process for the modernization and expansion of the High School was much more about community than simply about designing a school. In the beginning, we all seemed to have different ideas and issues to address. But once we began looking at the values we shared, we found we had a lot of common ground. That inspired us, and we became much more creative. Envision, if you will, a cultural center that brings together so much of what we value and share in the City, accessible to all members of our community.

By the late 1990s, our high school had become quite crowded. We knew that new construction—whether as an expansion or in the form of a new, separate high school—required careful deliberation and community input. But until we identified and embraced our core values, we struggled to move forward. Through a series of neighborhood coffees, meetings, public forums, retreats, and tours, we identified our common goals:

*Maintain community unity—meaning, let’s not split the City (one high school)
*Provide a personalized education
*Ensure equity for all—no have’s and have not’s
*Develop long term solutions
*Attend to frugality
*Encourage community involvement and partnerships

The advantages of that planning process are clear. More than ever, the school has become a cornerstone of the community, supporting many types of activities, services, and programs. The community partnerships have yielded broad benefit. Students and the community (over 11,000 members so far) share the beautiful, city-operated recreation center. Our partnership with the Local Hospital has enhanced our student health and fitness programs.

Students now perform side-by-side with community residents and visiting cast members in two theaters in our new Performing Arts Center, which has received strong support from the Feckley Foundation and the County Performing Arts Foundation. The School District’s educational programs are greatly enhanced through our partnership with the State University, which provides courses and maintains a distance learning lab here.

While we have “opened our arms” to the community with wonderful results, we have also diligently pursued our objective of personalized education. The building supports this very effectively. Students have a strong sense of their own educational culture—the school community—and a better appreciation for our history and vision. The organization of the building into smaller learning communities, or “houses,” enables us to support students with personalized attention and mentoring. Teachers report much closer relationships with the students and their families. Interaction with parents has risen considerably.

We have fewer disciplinary problems. Our students and teachers are clearly motivated by the knowledge that this facility provides them with far greater resources and opportunities than ever before, yet also offers the individualized focus that helps ensure success. There is a broader variety of instructional settings, allowing for independent research and study, or small- or large-group exploration and discussion. Technology is fully integrated. We are offering significantly more extra-curricular programs. Our students feel confident and safe. Most of all, they feel valued in a community that came together to support and create an exceptional environment for education and personal growth.