J.W. Eater Junior High School has experienced minimal facility upgrades since 1972. Thus, the district desired to undertake renovations to enhance students’ learning environments to support an instructional approach that will allow for project-based learning, a culture that empowers students and teachers, and to further enrich their facility in which students will take pride. The project includes renovations of the existing Library, Toilet Rooms, and Locker Rooms.
The Library, rebranded, The Innovation Center, has four main spaces: STEM Labs, a Presentation Room, the Collaboration Zone, and a Reading Room. The Presentation Room features a 75-inch flat screen TV and retractable green screen. The room is used for the production of computer-enhanced presentations in addition to serving as the school’s news production room. In the Collaboration Zone, there is a study area with a collaboration wall, three individual, built-in reading nooks and several soft-seating areas. The STEM Lab supports cross-cirricular activities and can be divided and expand through the use of three operable Nanawalls to provide flexibility.
In the Innovation Center, teachers will be able conduct virtual field trips, connect with students across the country or the world, provide enrichment activities, and differentiate and divide learning groups for during school or in after-school intervention sessions. The renovated center now allows for numerous opportunities, including theme-based, project learning that allows teachers to lead students in simultaneously applying their learning across all content areas.
