The Center for Innovation

Center Innovation

BY EIGHTH-GRADER CHASE WALDHEIM ’21

Construction is complete on Chandler’s latest campus addition: the Center for Innovation! The building will provide new opportunities for students in kindergarten through eighth grade to participate in making, robotics, engineering, design thinking and project-based learning. In addition, there will be a large space dedicated to music and the performing arts.

Split into three main levels, the lower level will be the new performing arts studio. “This space will allow us to expand our drama and performing arts program and utilize new equipment, tools and resources in everyday classes,” says Music and Performing Arts Teacher Brandi Williams-Moore.

The main level will be the Innovation Lab which will allow for woodworking, 3D printing, laser cutting, and many more hands-on activities. “It will be a place for students to create, tinker and make with high-tech and low-tech tools,” says Innovation Lab Director Pete Carlson.

The top level will feature a flexible classroom, which will have many uses such as an exhibition space for collaborative projects, group work and presentations such as the 7th grade “This I Believe Project” or the 8th grade Social Justice unit. “The new building will be an exciting new hub for student learning. It will be a space that fosters creativity, innovation and openness to new ideas where students can apply problem solving, critical thinking and intellectual risk taking,” says Director of Innovation Kimberly Edwards.

While we may not be using the building for its intended purposes in the 2020-2021 school year, the building will be an integral part of instruction. When we return to school for in-person learning, the Center for Innovation will give Chandler the ability to provide the necessary indoor classroom space for the additional cohorts created this year. The Center for Innovation will allow for a safe return to school for all students, but in the future, we look forward to the many new student experiences with the expansion of the performing arts program, opportunities for enhanced student creativity, and opening the door to endless possibilities in the Center for Innovation for years to come.