THE CENTER OF COMMUNITY IN ORANGE COUNTY
Parks+Nature | Growth+Opportunity | Community+Family | Homes+Neighborhoods | Education+Sports | Creativity+Culture ARTIST RENDERING, UNDER CONSTRUCTION; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE AUGUST 2018
IRVINE EDUCATES FOR THE FUTURE With the groundbreaking for the new Cadence Park School, the Irvine Unified School District continues to build its reputation for excellence in education
I
BY KEDRIC FRANCIS
rvine civic leaders, educators, architects, builders and parents gathered at a dirt lot under a bright blue September sky to celebrate another new school coming to the city. The groundbreaking for Cadence Park School, the fourth K-8 school in the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) and the district’s 40th school overall, signified the start of construction of the Art Deco-inspired campus, which is scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2018-2019 school year next August. “This isn’t an empty space,” said IUSD Superintendant Terry Walker, who MC’d the groundbreaking ceremony. “This is going to be the home away from home for generations of kids,” Walker said, noting that the school will include classes for pre-Kindergarten students just turning five through teenagers in the 8th grade. “Potentially a decade of a student’s life will be spent here at Cadence Park School, growing and making friendships and figuring out who they’re going to be and what their passions are. We are very excited to be part of that.”
Top and above: Artist renderings of Cadence Park School, the K-8 campus that will be IUSD’s 40th school when it welcomes students in August 2018.
The 94,000-square-foot school will be set on a 13-acre campus near Irvine Boulevard and will serve residents in north Irvine, including those living in communities recently completed and under construction, Parasol Park and Cadence Park. “In just the last six years we’ve built six new schools in the district,” IUSD Board of Education President Ira Glasky said. “Cadence Park School is going to be our most incredible one yet. This is a place where memories will be created, potential will be fully realized, and where innovative learning will be the rule and not the exception.” The school will include an innovation lab with a maker space and attached video production room, a library building with a story-telling IUSD Superintendant Terry Walker, FivePoint VP Carol Wold, IUSD Boardmember and Clerk Sharon Wallin, IUSD Board President Ira Glasky, IUSD Boardmember Betty Carroll, FivePoint Executive VP Lynn Jochim, and Cadence Park School Principal Carlo Grasso breaking ground at the new school site.
ARTIST RENDERING, UNDER CONSTRUCTION; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE AUGUST 2018
space, and a gymnasium with an attached fitness lab. The lower grade classrooms will have a direct connection to interior collaboration spaces, and the upper grades will surround a quad that includes an outdoor amphitheater, covered small group instruction area space for outdoor science activities, and a garden. The focus of the design, according to Glasky, is on developing student abilities in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. “Cadence Park School will bring IUSD school design to the next level,” Glasky said. “It will create an environment for students to engage, problemsolve, take intellectual risks and work together in flexible learning spaces, where they can share ideas with their peers and educators as part of their everyday learning process.” “A well-educated populace should be every city’s goal because the result is full circle, with children who grow up to change the world,” remarked Irvine City Councilmember Melissa Fox at the groundbreaking ceremony. “And it all starts right here, in the sandbox of knowledge,” Fox said. “So we want to congratulate everyone who worked so hard to make this happen.” Cadence Park School was designed by PJHM Architects, an Orange County firm that specializes in innovative planning and design of California schools. C.W. Driver is the builder, and FivePoint Holdings, LLC’s partnership (Heritage Fields El Toro, LLC) is funding its construction.
IUSD SCHOOLS OPENED SINCE 2013: Eastwood Elementary AUGUST 2017
Portola High School AUGUST 2016
Beacon Park AUGUST 2016
Portola Springs AUGUST 2015
Cypress Village AUGUST 2014
Jeffrey Trail Middle School AUGUST 2013
IUSD and FivePoint have collaborated on the planning, financing and construction of two other state-of-the-art schools in the Great Park Neighborhoods, Portola High School and Beacon Park School. Both schools opened in August 2016. “With shovels in our hands, dirt in our shoes, and a big smile on our faces, we break ground on the second K-8 school at the Great Park Neighborhoods,” said FivePoint Executive Vice President Lynn Jochim before she and others adjourned from making speeches to the ceremonial groundbreaking for Irvine’s newest school.
go to irvineinspired.com for more stories and videos
Let’s make Irvine the very best it can be. Let’s keep our eyes and minds open to new ideas. Let’s go beyond the status quo. Let’s surprise ourselves with what happens next. Let’s go. F I V E P O I N T. C O M
CREATED BY SCNG CUSTOM CONTENT | SPONSORED BY FIVEPOINT