New Elementary School to Feature Classroom ‘Pods’ (OK)

November 5, 2010

When it comes to school layout, the latest catchword is “pods.”

It’s a design style Norman Public Schools’ administration says reflects education tomorrow, not today.

And it is the key element in the district’s new elementary school design, which the Board of Education approved during a special meeting Wednesday.

The board also approved designs for classroom additions at Cleveland, Jackson and Wilson elementary schools.

“I don’t think we design schools for the way we teach today. We design schools for the way we want teachers to teach,” said Superintendent Joe Siano of the pod construction scattered on the blueprints of architecture firm The Stacy Group.

Pods are a grouping of classrooms segregated by grades. Each four-classroom pod (six total) features separate doors into the pod, which ca n be closed in an emergency; common space; outside entrance from each classroom and covered patio space for outside lessons and projects.

It’s a deviation from the traditional grade-level wings and is supposed to breed collaboration between teachers and students, Siano said.

A little more than 18 acres is allotted for the new elementary school that’s bounded by state Highway 9 and 24th Avenue SE. A park and neighborhoods also border the area.

Originally, the school was estimated to stretch for 64,000 square feet. But current plans have grown the design to 80,000 square feet to accommodate new ideas and prepare for a growing student population, said Sean Willis of The Stacy Group, who presented the plans.

The school will be able to hold about 650 students, Willis said.

“We’re designing a project for five, 10, 15, 20, 30 years from now,” Siano said.

Traffic control was another element of the design, Willis said, pointing out separate drop-off loops for buses and cars and another drop-off area for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes directly to their pods on the east side of the school.

The other grade-level pods are on the west side, separated from the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten by a main corridor that leads to the gym, cafeteria, media center and administration.

Willis pointed out windows throughout the main corridor, adding that the use of natural light will lower energy costs.

Board member Linda Sexton also proposed the addition of windows from the classrooms into the common space, saying she was afraid the space wouldn’t be used by teachers if they couldn’t see the stu dents. For example, Sexton said that one of the district’s schools has converted its common space to storage.

“And I assume it’s because they can’t see the students,” she said. “I’m not demanding, just a thought.”

“This will not be for storage. We’re not going to let that happen,” said Roger Brown, assistant superintendent of administrative services.

If growth is needed, Willis said an extra pod can be added, along with a couple of classrooms to each pod. Willis said the kitchen and gym also could be enlarged.

He also said a baseball and football field eventually could be built in an extensive area of green on the west side of the school.

Construction costs are estimated at a little more than $12 million (without the gym and kitchen alternates), about $2.4 million over budget.

Bids will be accepted through February and awarded in March, Willis said. The school is scheduled to open in summer 2012, he said.

“It’s a large project, so we’ll get good-quality contractors,” said Mike Mize, project manager of the district’s 2009 bond projects, of which the new elementary school is included. “I’ve been getting calls already.”

The board also approved classroom additions at Cleveland, Jackson and Wilson elementary schools to move students out of portables set up to accommodate overflow.

Construction costs are estimated at a little more than $5 million, more than $500,000 over budget, which Towers credited to Cleveland’s tight budget.

Plans, presented by Mike Tower of Locke Wright Pruitt and Brown, include a five-classroom addition at Cleveland for pre-kindergarten through kindergarten, along with lobby, flooring and playground equipment improvements.

Tower also presented an alternative administration addition, designed after interviews with teachers and administration about the school.

Currently, the principal’s office and reception area are disjointed. The administration addition would join the two and expand areas like the teacher’s lounge and clinic. The principal’s old office could be converted into space for speech, Tower said.

A nine-classroom addition for fourth and fifth grades was approved at Jackson, along with improvements to the air conditioning units, flooring and playground.

Wilson Elementary was approved for a seven-classroom addition for pre-kindergarten through kindergarten, along with a cafeteria addition for a commons area.

“It’s not just a cafeteria anymore. It becomes a central hub of the school,” said Larry Stubblefield of LWPB.

Currently, the gym and cafeteria share the same space. The new addition for a commons area will separate the two.

“This is a really good example of the collaboration that’s gone on between the architects and the staff,” Mize said.