Edgerton Trails Elementary School is an innovative addition to Rockford Public Schools and is their first new school in nearly 25 years. This state-of-the-art PK-5 facility was made possible through the community’s support of a $174 million bond issue passed in 2019. Designed to accommodate the growing population on the west side of Rockford, Edgerton Trails alleviates overcrowding in neighboring schools. The school is a testament to the district’s mission to provide safe learning environments that give students the academic and social skills needed to be successful, lifelong learners in a global society.

The school’s colorful interior is inspired by Rockford’s elementary science curriculum, with each grade level housed in distinct “neighborhoods” that reflect local habitats. The neighborhoods — The Pond (DK), The Woodlands (K-1), The Lakes (2-3), and The Dunes (4-5) — provide age-appropriate and fun environments that connect back to what they are learning. Students can feel emotionally and physically safe as the layout ensures they interact primarily with their peers in spaces designed specifically for their developmental stage. The integration of natural themes also extends to the building’s outdoor learning spaces, which includes a small classroom amphitheater and access to the district’s nature center. Two playgrounds on site also cater to the needs of lower and upper elementary age students.

Holland Heights Elementary School is embarking on an exciting transformation to create updated learning environments and to enhance nature-based learning. This $21.2 million project, funded through a bond passed by voters in May 2021, will bring new classrooms, a media center, and updated playground to K-5 students.

The oldest portion of the building, originally opened in 1952, will be demolished to make room for new construction. The project will retain and renovate key existing facilities such as the gym, cafeteria, and main office, while creating new specials areas including a music room, STEM lab, and art room.

As part of a larger bond program, Comstock Public Schools will begin construction of a new K-8 STEM Academy to replace a 75-year-old facility with a purpose-built STEM school. The new school will feature intentional design that celebrates the future of STEM and ensures that the programming is thoughtful, inclusive, and relevant to today’s technology and resources. The new Academy is set to become the area’s go-to facility for STEM education while creating opportunities for future partnerships with organizations.

The project team held a design workshop with multiple stakeholder and community groups to develop a functional and flexible design that can evolve and adapt to the changing needs of students. Situated on a 30-acre campus next to the existing elementary, the new STEM Academy will house up to 450 students to support the growing program. This will be the first new building for the Comstock Public Schools district in more than 50 years.

Lake Orion Community Schools’ new Blanche Sims Elementary School replaces the oldest elementary building in the district with a new, modern facility serving students in DK through 5th grade. The 68,875 SF school consists of 19 classrooms, a secure entry and office spaces, extended learning spaces throughout the building, a new kitchen with servery, cafeteria with stage, gymnasium, STEM center and media center. 

The building was designed into grade-level pods with classrooms, interior extended learning areas and covered outdoor learning spaces. The classrooms will be larger than in the previous facility and were designed to fit more flexible and collaborative 21st century learning styles. An emphasis on integrating indoor and outdoor spaces together will now allow students to easily engage with outdoor learning. Outdoor access points are included in each pod and classrooms offer unobstructed outdoor views with as much natural light as possible inside the building. Elementary specials, resource rooms and bathrooms are located off the main central spine of the building, with good proximity to new playgrounds. 

Ludington Area School District was looking to consolidate their three elementary schools into one new, centralized facility due to aging buildings that would have required significant renovations. 

As part of the planning process, our team collaborated with the district and the community through an extensive two-day Design Workshop to develop initial concepts and establish Guiding Principles for the project. School staff, board members, and community members conducted visioning exercises around the student experience they wanted to create in this new facility. The workshops also created cohesion among the teams and staff of the three buildings who were coming together into one, generating empathy among all participants for each other’s perspectives and vision for the community. Many of the teachers and staff from the different schools had never met, and the workshop helped to build camaraderie and collaboration among staff for creating spaces and curriculum together–genuinely putting learning and the student experience at the heart of the project. As education continues to evolve, it was important for the design to be efficient and adaptable and provide a flexible place to inspire growth and stimulate education for the present and the future.

21st Century Learning

The existing buildings were over 50 years old, and not only did Ludington aim to bring the district into the 21st century, they took a forward-looking approach to push the envelope in facilities and classroom design for future teaching and learning models. The approach was to create more than a school building, but a learning ecosystem within the community.

Recognizing that learning doesn’t only happen in the classroom, but also in other spaces like media centers, outdoor areas, and hallways, Ludington recognized that the current school environments were limiting the opportunities for staff to be innovative as it relates to teaching and learning. The team designed the new elementary school spaces to be flexible and transitionally appropriate for each age group, as well as accommodating for learning in every space.

The Forest Hills Public Schools community passed a bond program in 2018 to update the district’s agining infrastructure, increase safety measures, and inspire students by creating modern learning environments. As part of the bond, the Forest Hills Central Middle School is undergoing a complete renovation to enhance the school’s systems and learning environments.

The updated floor plan will allow for multiple collaboration spaces for middle school students and breaks the building up into grade level houses. Each house has a large breakout space with movable furniture that leads to the core of the building. A wide, 20-foot corridor directs students to the core that is complemented by high ceilings with bright, clerestory windows. A large group learning space in the core was designed to accommodate a variety of learning styles with presentation space and flexible furniture. A second collaboration room, identified as the “Ranger Core Collaboratory,” across from the presentation room is transparent with a full glass wall on the corridor side while the other side includes a garage door that leads into a courtyard to support a variety of programs.

As the largest district in Ottawa County, Hudsonville Public Schools is rapidly growing, adding nearly 125 students each year for the last five years, and that growth is expected to continue. As part of the district’s long-term master plan, the community approved a 2019 bond proposal to identify sites and build new school facilities to address the district’s population needs.

A new 5/6 intermediate and upper elementary school building adjacent to the existing middle school addresses space issues at the middle school and K-5 elementary school on the district’s burgeoning north side, in addition to creating age-appropriate classrooms and learning spaces with integrated technology and flexible furniture. The building can accommodate up to 750 students and ease their transition between elementary and middle school with spaces that meet students at their level and accommodate the curriculum and instruction.

For more than 70 years, Unity Christian High School has expanded the mission of their school in fostering faith, increasing knowledge, and developing skills in students to serve God and others. Serving 700 students annually, the school is expected to steadily increase enrollment over the next few years. The high school was constructed on the 110-acre school campus with room to grow for future projects. The new expansion project was proposed to meet the growing demand for space, while still serving the school’s original master plan from 1999.

Sequence I of the high school expansion project will add new classrooms and an expanded Bible classroom to the south wing. The expanded north wing will provide additional space for STEM programs, such as industrial arts, welding, woodworking, CAD/engineering, and robotics. Four existing classrooms will also be renovated into an educational support suite for counseling and student wellness services. A new bridge connector will join the north and south wings of the school together and provide students with additional learning and gathering spaces. The connector encloses an exterior courtyard and creates a separate student area that fosters a feeling of community and inclusion. The connector will include an elevator for equal accessibility and efficiency for all students. This portion of the project began in spring 2023 and is expected to be completed in fall 2024.

Holland Christian Schools is a vibrant, multi-campus community that is united by a common mission to equip minds and nurture hearts to transform the world. There has been a large push toward nature-based education in early childhood and kindergarten, but Holland Christian Schools expressed interest in expanding the curriculum through elementary (grades 1 and 2), intentionally placing the Forest School near the middle school building and taking steps to establish future educational models to support outdoor learning at all grade levels.

The Forest School is supportive of traditional subjects, but nature is the method through which students learn the concepts. Nature-based education is much more robust and sensory-based; students exposed to outdoor spaces show much lower levels of depression and anxiety, and that translates throughout their lives. Clustered together as a community, three buildings each have an outdoor learning space adjacent to it where students are encouraged to explore, connect with nature, and get dirty. Active outdoor play, falling down, and making a mess are considered crucial elements in learning about yourself and the environment you live in.

Saugatuck Public Schools successfully passed a $35.6 million bond in 2020 to update their district’s aging elementary and middle / high school facilities. Significant upgrades to Douglas Elementary School, originally built in the early 1950s, were proposed to enhance the students’ overall learning environment.  

Along with infrastructure improvements, the updated school design brings new opportunities to students through modern education spaces, flexible furniture, outdoor-based learning, and collaborative-focused commons areas. This project also rethinks the main entrance to enhance hospitality and security, creating a positive and welcoming first impression that is “Uniquely Saugatuck.”

Two learning commons at the heart of the facility were a focal point of the renovation. With the goal of increasing attraction to the core spaces of the elementary school, the learning commons create a welcoming environment that draws students in to engage with the extended learning areas and new technology. A new student support area near the commons center also offers special education and counseling services that are easily accessible to the whole building. Creating transparent connections, internally and externally, creates excitement around the learning that is visible and increases natural light throughout the building. Throughout the facility, expanded classrooms spaces, new lockers, and refreshed aesthetics will carry on the welcoming feeling to early learners. Renovated science, music, and art spaces also give students up-to-date materials that enhance their curriculum.