New modular at McLean

PAARTH SONI ONLINE SPORTS EDITOR

ANDY CHUNG REPORTER

MADELYN FREDERICK REPORTER

IIn a typical school year, students would be complaining about the overcrowding at McLean. From the hallways that are nearly impossible to walk through, to the packed classrooms, McLean’s building has exceeded its capacity.

To help alleviate this issue, trailer classrooms were added several years ago, but the learning environment in the trailers is sub-par compared to the classrooms in the building. To improve the learning experience, the FCPS Design and Construction team began building a new modular unit to expand McLean’s campus and improve the learning environment.

“[The modular] will provide 12 classrooms, have a couple of offices for the teachers and will be like an extra wing to the building, just not connected,” Director of Student Activities Greg Miller said.

The modular will have bathrooms for both students and teachers, which will eliminate the need for students in those classes to walk to the building in order to access a bathroom.

Construction started in March, after school went virtual for the rest of the year.

MODULAR CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY

New 12-classroom unit will be an upgrade from old trailers

Before the project began, the old trailers were moved to the tennis courts in order to clear up space for the construction.

According to FCPS Coordinator of Facilities Improvements Paul Scott, the new modular will be around 13,600 square feet with a total project cost of approximately $2 million. Scott said the projected date of project completion is early January 2021.

World language classes and offices will be located in the modular, and teachers in other departments who taught in the trailers will return to classrooms in the main building.

“Most kids only take one language class,” Principal Ellen Reilly said. “If you’re taking a language class, you’re only going out there [two or] three days a week, so it won’t [cause] such an impact in going back and forth from the [main building] out to the modular [for multiple classes].”

The modular is meant to be temporary, so when the building has adequate space for all classrooms, the modular unit can be relocated. Scott noted that the last time McLean High School was renovated was in 2005, and FCPS is currently operating on a 37-year renovation cycle, so the modular may be around for quite some time.

Though the modular construction will not do much to alleviate overcrowding, since it contains the same number of classrooms as the old trailers did, it will provide a better environment for students and staff when McLean fully reopens, which is projected to happen in February 2021. The administration has high hopes for the new modular.

“In the next couple of weeks, everything should start going up—we’re ordering furniture, we’re getting it all set,” Reilly said. “It should be a lot nicer than the trailers.”

FULL COURT STRESS — The old trailers were moved to the tennis courts to make room for the modular. After construction ends, the tennis courts will be replaced. “The court is old, making it really slippery and dangerous,” junior tennis player Tommy Lam said. BUILDING BEGINS — Construction workers build the base of the modular on the blacktop, where the trailers used to sit. The modular is projected to be completed in early January 2021.