Page 45 - School Planning & Management, July/August 2017

Being Prepared. In order to prepare students for success in the world of tomorrow, educational spaces need to be redesigned to accommodate activities and the tools needed to practice skills. High school and adult students on the West-MEC campus have the opportunity to receive spe- cialty training in a variety of industry pathways, including Industrial Technology, Auto Collision and Technology, Health Sciences, Cosmetology, Veterinary Sciences, Construction Technology, Electrical, Plumbing, Pharmacy and even Aviation Technology.
each facility presents space for hands-on learning and industry collaboration.
The Southwest Campus includes programs on Sustainable Energy, Industrial Technology; Auto Collision and Technology; Health Sciences, Cosmetology and Veteri- nary Sciences. Lab spaces offer state-of-the- art equipment and adjacent collaborative learning spaces promote team interaction and second floor exterior roof patios enable outdoor learning environments.
The Northeast Campus hosts pro- grams for veterinary assisting, medical assisting, HVAC-R and auto collision industries. The district also provides programs such as construction technology, electrical, plumbing and pharmacy assist- ing at the Northeast Campus.
The Central Campus houses West- MEC’s Aviation Technology program, teaching students aircraft maintenance and repair of mechanical systems. The facility supports a program consistent of up to 1900 hours of instruction in general, air frame, power plant and avionics as prescribed by the Federal Aviation Admin- istration, and has the capacity to handle up to 100 enrollees per week.
In addition to these examples, DLR Group is partnering with Cherry Creek School District in Colorado to design a Career and Innovation Academy. Accord- ing to Sara Grobbel, executive director of Career and Innovation, “Our new Career and Innovation Academy will inspire kids to think differently and offer them an enhanced understanding of possible pathways for career readiness.”
DLR Group’s focus on Applied Learning allows industry needs to work in tandem with academic programs, enabling the building spaces we create to help pave
the way for the next generation of school design and prepare our young students for
MIC program expands the typical network of partners, engaging multiple K-12 school dis- tricts, dozens of regional business partners, a multi-campus community college system and a state university.
“The MIC model supports today’s students who need learning to be personal- ized to their generation. The building acts as a base headquarters for students who spend time on this campus, the workplace, their home high school and the community college campuses,” said Elaine Metcalf, principal of Summit Technology Academy/ Missouri Innovation Campus.
This high-tech, STEM-focused facility serves 600 Lee’s Summit R-7 School District students and 1,200 University of Central Missouri students and fosters authentic
“Our new Career and Innovation Academy
will inspire kids to think differently and offer them an enhanced understanding of possible pathways for career readiness.” — Sarah Grobbel
workplace experiences to meet immediate industry workforce needs. The building itself supports a diverse and flexible program that can evolve as future careers are invented. Each academic focus — from networking and engineering, to medical and bio-medi- cal, to graphics, hospitality, and cybersecu- rity — are segregated into quadrants with dedicated labs for specific and adjacencies to flexible spaces for a changing curricu- lum. MIC offers students the opportunity
to graduate earlier, with much less college debt and higher job placement rates. It’s an innovative example of how program-driven spaces can help prepare our young people for a place in the professional world.
Western Maricopa Education Center | Glendale, Ariz.
As Greg Donovan, Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC) superinten- dent notes, “Career and technical programs require an abundance of pre-thought and work in order to meet both industry and educational needs.”
The West-MEC campus does just that by providing a dynamic specialty training cen- ter for high school and adult students seek- ing future careers in a variety of industry pathways. Spread across multiple buildings,
the world that awaits them.
SPM
>>Pam Loeffelman, FAIA, leads DLR Group’s K-12 Education studio in the Southwest, elevating education for local school districts in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Wyoming.
JULY/AUGUST 2017 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 45