Building Community Campaign

A few years ago, Community School launched a master planning process with the goal of identifying facilities and grounds improvements that would have a deep and positive impact on teaching, learning, and the student experience here at school. As a result, we have purchased neighboring land (to “square off” the campus and protect the school’s woods), and launched an ambitious capital campaign and building project to expand and improve some of our key facilities.

An early part of this process was to identify those facilities most in need of improvement. A key finding was a confirmation of what most of us have known for quite some time: Community School needed to upgrade our woodshop and science facilities, as well as other teaching and learning spaces, to match our classrooms to the high level of teaching already taking place.

In several important ways the old shop building (built in the 1940s, and expanded in the ‘50s) could no longer support the programs that we housed in it. For instance, woodshop used to be classes of 10 students, where we now have up to 22 students at a time. That increased class size required our teachers to store some of our larger power tools. Science classes, which have shared the shop building for a number of years, require updated facilities so that students can do longterm (and space-intensive) projects such as robotics and chemistry. Additionally, having woodshop and science in a separate building creates accessibility issues for students with physical challenges, and poses safety and security concerns.

The need for improved facilities is the impetus behind the Building Community Campaign, which will result in a beautiful new addition on the north side of the main building. The new Broughton STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) Center will house a new tworoom woodshop (one room for hand tools, and another room behind a glass wall equipped with power tools), a new drama room, two science classrooms, a project space, an idea lab, collaboration areas, a creative commons, new offices, and a conference room.

Importantly, the Broughton STEAM Center is designed to further enhance our teaching and learning. There is an emphasis on shared collaborative spaces, not just because that is how science is often done but also because we know that this helps teach life skills such as leadership, working in teams, learning from others, and sharing ideas. We are creating flexible spaces that encourage creativity and imagination; for instance, the idea lab will be filled with materials and tools that students can use to create, such as a 3D printer and robotics components. Additionally, the Broughton STEAM Center is designed to enhance crossgrade collaboration. The two Upper and Lower Division science classrooms will now be side by side with a shared office and prep space between them. This will not only allow our science teachers to more effectively plan and share ideas but also enable our older students to work with younger children, and younger students to easily see and learn from older students’ work.

There is also an important improvement in cross-subject collaboration. For instance, the woodshop has been an important partner in the creation of sets and props for the drama program. Students work with the shop teachers to build sets and make props, but that has been logistically challenging due to the distance between the old shop building and our Centennial Arts Center (CAC). The Broughton STEAM Center brings these programs into close proximity, with shared access to the new creative commons. The creative commons, which lies immediately outside both the new shop and drama rooms, is large enough to serve as a set-building space, and is convenient to the CAC. Students will have the opportunity to design and build sets and props with the support of our woodshop teachers, giving them valuable experience in applying their skills to specific requirements.

One vitally important part of this project is the increase in physical accessibility it will provide for students, teachers, staff, and visitors. Because the Broughton STEAM Center will be attached to the main building, children and adults will no longer need to go outside and across the sometimesicy asphalt to get to their science and woodshop classes. Additionally, our goal is to relocate and improve our elevator (that currently serves two of the four levels in the main building) so that it will go to every floor. Every year we have children who are injured that would benefit from an elevator, as well as children or adults who have physical challenges that make it difficult to manage stairs. And I am sure our visiting grandparents will especially enjoy this upgrade!

I am happy to report that both fundraising and construction are moving along on schedule. We have raised approximately $6.3 million of our $7 million goal to date, and anticipate meeting (and hopefully exceeding!) our goal sometime this fall. The new building is going up quickly, with the steel framework largely erected, and walls beginning to take shape. Assuming the weather cooperates, we will be opening the new Broughton STEAM Center in the spring of 2024, and look forward to inviting the greater “Community of Community” to come back and take a tour of these beautiful new facilities.

Most importantly, Community School is the same place it has always been – a school that sees individual students for who they are and believes in a hands-on and engaged education. And over the next few months we will be building wonderful new teaching and learning spaces that will match our extraordinary educational program.

Warmly, Bob