ACSD Master Planning Update - January and February Engagements

With the goal of creating a “generational solution” for ACSD facilities, ThenDesign Architecture held meetings with district staff, students, and community members to gain feedback on spaces included in the plan and additional considerations that were important to these stakeholders, ensuring the best outcome for Aurora City School students.

Aurora City Schools: Master Planning Update

Throughout January and February, Aurora City Schools made significant progress in developing their facility master plans. With the goal of creating a “generational solution” for ACSD facilities, ThenDesign Architecture held meetings with district staff, students, and community members to gain feedback on spaces included in the plan and additional considerations that were important to these stakeholders, ensuring the best outcome for Aurora City School students.

In the summer of 2023, the Board of Education decided to explore plans to improve the learning environment for all students in the district. This includes constructing a new high school and then shifting grades within district facilities, which would eliminate Craddock Elementary, the oldest school in the district. 

Gathering Feedback from District Staff

During master planning, the team develops solutions from a “10,000-foot view.” This very early stage of a school facilities project is where architects and district administrators decide which buildings to address, the overall square footage, and how this will serve future growth. During this time, rough "site fit" diagrams are developed to ensure schools can fit on proposed sites, and preliminary internal layouts are being discussed. It is important to realize this is far from a final solution but allows the team to understand the options. 

Feedback sessions and conversations with district staff and the community sometimes include conceptual layouts, proposed sites, and what new spaces may be included. Costs are preliminary but helpful to understand the project scope. 

After the passage of a bond issue, this master plan will become the foundation for a full and intensive design process where entire site schematics and construction documents are generated.

Engaging with School Administrative Leaders 

Throughout January, the design team met with administrative leaders to validate the program scope for the new high school. This involved depicting all the proposed spaces in a graphic format for staff to discuss. This ensures that all the necessary areas are accounted for in upcoming designs. Then, designers met with the entire staff at the high school to review the overall project, along with preliminary school site studies. Departments broke into small groups to discuss the layout, relationships between spaces, and the overall concept. 

Notetakers at each table captured the input to be folded into the plan. Some common concepts at the high school included:

• Incorporating flexible spaces of different sizes for student collaboration, testing, or special projects.

• Better arrangement and organization of departments for the new building.

• Opportunities to develop a "community feel" within the school to enhance community activities and access.

• Flexible furniture that can be easier to rearrange based on the academic activity.

Superintendent's Advisor Group and the Construction Steering Committee

Since this project will potentially impact all buildings in the district, in February, the design team met with staff at every school to better understand how the spaces could be reconfigured to accommodate incoming students and the grade adjustments. With this feedback, architects can better propose improvements at each building, how they can be phased, and potential construction costs.

The scope for the project includes:

• A new 9-12 high school with an attached 650-seat auditorium.

• Moving grades 6-8 to the existing high school and perform select renovations.

• Moving PK, 1 and 2 to Leighton and 3-5 to Harmon.

• Moving the board offices to the existing high school.

• Keeping kindergarten at Miller.

• Abate/Demolish Craddock Elementary School.

Additionally, in February, a Construction Steering Committee was established and met. This diverse group comprised community members, interested residents, local construction professionals, parents, and other school volunteers. They were tasked with providing input on the plan as it develops.

After a presentation on the overall project, they discussed various notable topics to be explored in upcoming meetings. 

Some topics included:

• The need to examine traffic impacts on the Aurora Greenmen Campus.

• The positioning of the new high school and how to minimize its effects on surrounding properties.

• Vehicular circulation and parking arrangements for the new high school.

• Ensuring all the schools in the district can accommodate growth in the Aurora community for future generations.

The feedback gathered in these sessions will inform the overall master plan and help the district develop more accurate plans, schedules, and cost estimates moving into 2024.

The design team is now working to incorporate this feedback into the school's programming. Additional engagements with the Construction Steering Committee and the Superintendent's Advisory Group are planned monthly, and as more detail is brought to the plans, they will continue to be communicated.