Avon Community School Corporation was considering multiple alternatives to its intermediate schools. Transitioning students from elementary to intermediate to middle school within four years had become problematic for the district. Teachers reported that transitions disrupted the learning process, and they couldn’t get to know the students. The district was pondering whether they should continue to grow the intermediate school building, because eventually the enrollment could grow to 2,400 5th and 6th graders on a single campus.
Our team worked with the district to scope out three solutions, including a new middle, elementary, or intermediate school. One solution was to maintain the status quo and continue to grow the existing facilities, including the intermediate schools. Our team prepared concept diagrams and a comparative analysis to determine the best solution for Avon. Ultimately, they chose a new middle school and eliminated the intermediate school grade configuration, putting 5th graders into the elementary schools and 6th graders into the middle schools.
Although the cost was a bit higher, they could still build a new middle school while staying below their threshold of debt and not affecting the community’s tax rates. Our team collaborated with the community to share information and build a consensus about the plans. The community approved the plan, and it was set to move forward.
However, the schedule would be very aggressive. Because of the projected enrollment growth, Avon needed to expand capacity and restructure the grade levels before the 2025-2026 school year.
We knew the district’s schedule could not be met without buy-in from local regulatory authorities and utilities. We invited the regulatory authorities and utilities to collaborate before we started building plans. Asking for their input so early in the process worked in our favor, and they were happy to help. Everyone was on board to make this project happen on this fast timeline.
We worked backward from the deadline to create a detailed timeline for each aspect of the project. The building site needed to be rezoned, which would take multiple approvals. The new Middle School site had to be designed and detailed within 3 months to secure town rezoning and development plan approvals. This would allow site construction to begin in the fall before winter bad weather set in and slowed construction progress. There was no room for backtracking; once a decision was made, it was final.
Our team used all available resources to speed the process along, including drones for the site survey and to survey the building as construction progressed. The community collaborated to bring this project to life.
In just two years, a new building was constructed, and additions and renovations to nine other facilities were completed. All buildings will be open in the fall of 2025, allowing Avon to focus less on facilities and more on teaching and learning.
