Last November, Community Consolidated School District 15, consisting of 20 schools and seven municipalities in Illinois, approved the $93 million Moving 15 Forward referendum. Upon that approval, the District began work to address three major areas of improvement: repairing and restoring facilities, updating learning spaces, and streamlining students’ transitions from elementary through middle school into local high school districts 211 and 214.
Included in this effort is the expansion of Plum Grove Junior High School in Rolling Meadows, Ill., from a junior high serving seventh and eighth graders into a middle school that also educates sixth grade students.
Plum Grove Middle School, which will serve more than 800 students, is seen as a cornerstone of the District’s move toward adolescent-focused middle schools that use the “house” concept, which creates teams of teachers and staff that share smaller groups of students through an academic schedule.
Plum Grove’s $18.4 million upgrade and expansion got started on July 27. Wold Architects and Engineers provided the designs, and Nicholas & Associates is the general contractor. As part of Phase 1 of a four-phase construction plan, additions at Plum Grove include two new three-story classroom wings, or “houses,” which form the backbone of the middle school concept, for a total of 12 new general education classrooms.
Each grade-level house has its own learning commons with an innovative shared learning hub, including a central collaboration space, new science lab spaces, and modern, flexible classrooms. In addition, the project includes site updates such as traffic and paving improvements, a new track, and play fields.
Construction is expected to be completed for the 2024-2025 school year.
Sustainable, energy efficient design
![Rendering of Gladstone Elementary](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Gladstone-v1-718_Main%20Entry_Dark%20Green_HiRes.jpg)
A week before Plum Grove’s expansion was getting underway, the City of Cranston, R.I., held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new $83 million, 105,000-sf Gladstone Elementary School. This is one of five core building projects identified in Cranston’s five-year facility improvement plan that has been approved by Rhode Island School Building Authority for Housing Aid State Reimbursement.
Gladstone Elementary will be 40,000 sf larger than the existing school it replaces, and will incorporate the student body of Arlington Elementary, bringing its total to 798 K-5 students. The Building Team on this project includes Gilbane Building Company, Jacobs Engineering, and Finegold Alexander Architects. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2025.
The old school had been functioning up until June 14, but was in serious need of repair, with boarded-up windows. It will be demolished and during construction students will be relocated to a temporary location in Cranston.
The new building is designed to exceed current sustainability and energy codes. A combination of sub-surface and surface stormwater filtration systems are part of its scope, and the project will be compliant with the Northeast Collaborative for High-Performance Schools Criteria program (NE-CHPs), which provides guidance and verification for new school projects, renovations, and additions.
Gladstone will feature a combination of learning and community engagement areas, like a cafeteria and gymnasium with performance spaces. Its learning spaces will be modeled after Eden Park School in Garden City, where open floor plans contribute to collaborative learning environments. Gladstone will also have designated special-education classrooms, administration areas, a nurse’s office, and food preparation space.
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | Jun 5, 2017
PK-8 school will be Denver’s first CHPS-certified building
A “learning stair” will connect the cafeteria to the main level.
K-12 Schools | May 31, 2017
NAC Architecture rolls out ‘Hack Your Classroom’ campaign
In collaboration with room2learn, NAC launched a campaign aimed at crowd-sourcing information on what teachers are doing in their classroom to improve the learning experience.
K-12 Schools | May 16, 2017
The future of schools: Net zero should be the norm
Students are helping drive change by focusing on the future.
K-12 Schools | May 1, 2017
Seattle’s first vertically-oriented middle school breaks ground
The building will provide 74,289 sf of space across its five-story classroom bar.
K-12 Schools | Apr 21, 2017
The stadium effect
School districts that invested in their athletic facilities over the last few years have seen a tremendous increase in student morale and health, growth in campus culture, and excitement within their communities.
K-12 Schools | Apr 7, 2017
Is an alternative project delivery method right for your K-12 school district?
With California’s increasingly busy—and costly—construction market, it’s becoming more difficult to predict costs with a typical design-bid-build delivery method.
K-12 Schools | Mar 9, 2017
The future of education facilities: Creating spaces where learning happens everywhere
The art of designing schools lies not in just understanding what makes a functional classroom, but in how successful we are in creating a wide array of educational options for teachers and students within the school environment.
K-12 Schools | Mar 9, 2017
School branding: The impact on identity and engagement
What is school branding and why is it important? HMC Architects’ James Krueger and Barbara Perez weigh in on the topic.
K-12 Schools | Feb 22, 2017
Through the principal's eyes: A look at K-12 architecture
Anderson-Livsey is a K-5 school located about 30 minutes East of Atlanta in Gwinnett County and has an enrollment of 785 students.
K-12 Schools | Feb 8, 2017
'Fabrication Hall' introduces Wyoming high school students to career paths
The hall offers bountiful natural light with enough space to build large-scale projects.