DALTON — When construction on Whitfield County’s newest high school is complete, the campus will feature more prominent outdoor classrooms than any school in the district and will be designed for the project-based learning students are moving toward.
Balconies that lead from the cafeteria and library are designed for holding class. Large square “instructional spaces” on the inside replace long hallways and will be used for group projects, presentations and other work that gets students out of a traditional setting, officials said.
The Coahulla Creek High School campus, which is on schedule to open in fall 2011, has been under construction since August 2008. The steel frame for the three-story building is visible from Crow Road, and workers have been on site sometimes seven days a week to make up for lost time due to bad weather.
Project-based learning focuses on learning through research, physical projects, presentations to the community and other methods besides traditional lectures and reading from textbooks.
The new school is being built to alleviate crowding at Southeast Whitfield and Northwest Whitfield high schools, where there are about 1,300 and 1,800 students respectively, school board members have said. About 600 students attend the Whitfield Career Academy. Officials have long said one of the school district’s goals in opening the new school on Crow Road is to provide for small, community-based schools of — for high schools — between 1,000 and 1,200 students.
“Providing smaller schools for students helps them build stronger relationships with their teachers and leadership team which leads to greater student achievement and promotes stronger ties to the community,” said school system spokesman Eric Beavers. “The design of the new high school is based directly on input from a broad range of folks from all over the district. Nearly 100 people — students, parents, community members as well as staff from the school district — were invited to share their ideas about what they wanted our students to have in a school building.”
Construction on the school has resulted in $6.3 million being spent locally on materials and services, officials say. The total cost of the building is $45.2 million. Between 60 and 80 workers have been on the site through the colder months, Beavers said. By summer, the number should increase to between 170 and 200, he said.
Upperclassmen across the school district can apply to CCHS or choose to graduate from the high school where they already attend. School board chairman Tim Trew said community committees will form over the next few months to develop informed recommendations on a zone for the new high school as well as admissions policies for out-of-zone juniors and seniors who apply to CCHS.
“There’s a lot of information that has to be gathered,” Trew said. “The work’s going on.”
School system officials said they have no way of knowing how many out-of-district juniors and seniors will come to CCHS. Superintendent Katie Brochu said she plans to hire a principal before the start of the upcoming school year.
----
Local spending on Coahulla Creek High construction
Dalton Utilities (sewer): $2.1 million
Land purchase: $1.25 million
Concrete materials: $1.16 million
Georgia Power contract: $986,402
Spurling Fire contract: $269,000
North Georgia Electric Membership Corp.: $36,000
Carpet: $35,725
Other purchase orders: $9,300
Total local participation: $6.27 million
• Total original construction budget: $58.9 million
• Actual bid cost: $45.2 million
• Project savings: $13.7 million
Building features
• 242,000 square feet
• Three levels
• 63 instructional spaces (classrooms, labs, etc.)
• Black box theater: A versatile space that can be arranged to accommodate a wide range of theater and performance events.
• Project-based labs: Students will have huge work spaces on each of the three floors of classrooms to spread out and focus on designing products that illustrate the depth of their learning.
• Outdoor instructional space: Labs will open onto the roof of the cafeteria and media center allowing students to continue their lab work outdoors.
Source: Whitfield County Schools
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
