Bannockburn School District 106 expressed the need for a more secure main entrance. The new administration addition and renovation allowed the opportunity to create multiple security checkpoints, as well as provide a proper nurse’s office, teacher work room, and a conference room large enough to accommodate district board meetings.
The district’s need to create 21st Century learning spaces that were in line with current curriculum standards prompted the renovations in the library and computer lab. Initially two separate spaces, the renovation allowed the opportunity to consolidate these functions into one large space, which created the flexibility for different sized group instruction.
The library, now renamed Innovation Collaboration Exploration (ICE), is a multi-functional space in the school, and is often times utilized by several classes at the same time. Flexible furniture allows students and staff to immediately arrange the space based on their current needs. The ICE Center is also equipped with technology that allows for presentations and video recording. Within the library space, a collaboration room, which is enclosed in glass, provides a more private setting for small group work, while still remaining visually connected to the rest of the class. A retractable green screen is used by students to record the daily announcements or the progress work of their finished project.
Adjacent to the library is the district’s STEM lab, which was designed as an added program to the school’s core curriculum. Technology and flexible seating were paramount in the design, as well as the location, which allows students to have a direct correlation with the library for both supervision, and to accommodate extra space for experiments.
