South Fayette School Board tours newly renovated high school
Joe Brennan, construction manager at PJ Dick, shows Assistant Superintendent David Deramo the new charging outlets at the high tables in the cafeteria.
Despite significant work still to be done on the high school, and the cafeteria pictured here, Superintendent Bille Rondinelli said the project will be done by the start of the 2017-18 school year.
Joe Brennan and high school principal Aaron Skrbin discussing the new science classrooms with the board members.
The science wing will now be in the addition to the high school, including this new chemistry lab.
Before its regularly scheduled meeting July 25, the South Fayette School Board toured the newly renovated South Fayette High School.
A group of six board members, Superintendent Bille Rondinelli, high school principal Aaron Skrbin and several others were led by Joe Brennan, construction manager at PJ Dick.
“The high school tour presented an excellent opportunity to see the construction progress first-hand,” Rondinelli said. “While there’s still some work to do, we have already been anticipating how the new spaces will not only accommodate our increasing enrollment, but will also be used by students for academic and innovative purposes.”
Rondinelli said the renovation will be finished by the 2017-18 school year, which begins Aug. 21. Brian Tony, director of finance, said the projected $30 million renovation is expected to be done under budget.
Originally built in 2002 to support about 800 students, Rondinelli said the high school will be home to at least 900 students for the upcoming school year. With larger classes in the younger grades, the high school enrollment is likely to continue to increase.
According to a demographic study in 2014, demographer Shelby Stewman projected high school enrollment in 2020 to be between 1,077 to 1,094 students.
Rondinelli said the district is ahead of the demographic study’s projections and the renovation of the high school, along with other improvements of the district’s buildings, are necessary for a healthy school district.
“You want to make sure that you have enough space to meet the needs of providing a quality educational program,” she said.
The addition to the high school includes more lockers, classrooms and other rooms for student activities.
While most of the classrooms in the addition are in the science department, other classrooms will host world language, English, social studies and business classes.
One of the classrooms – a fabrication laboratory – will host STEAM classes and be used for beta testing, Rondinelli said. The room, which is based on the recommendations of MIT, contains wood cutting, glass cutting and plasma cutting machines.
The new addition contains a digital media room with a studio and soundproof recording rooms.
Board member Jennifer Iriti was impressed with the room during the walk-through.
“I see all this stuff and say, ‘I want to go back to high school,'” she said.
The improvements to the existing cafeteria include more space for students and high tables with charging stations for students’ smart phones and laptops.
“Our students are going to be really happy to see those,” Rondinelli said.
The library at the high school will also see a change, Rondinelli said, as the school district as a whole wants to improve the atmosphere of its school’s libraries.
“District wide, we’re uplifting our libraries and want them really to be a hub and learning center and a focus in each building,” she said. “Whether it’s an older building or a newly renovated building, we’re really reimagining our libraries and kind of transitioning them to be a hub for learning.”
Also in the library, there will be a kiva, which Rondinelli said is a small project planning room, to promote visual learning. The circular room in the library has sections of the wall that can be written on with dry erase markers.
“The students will use this as a think tank,” she said. “This will help students develop skills that will help them as they move on to career readiness.”
Kristen Davis, a rising senior at South Fayette High School and the board’s student representative, was pleased with the renovations following the walk-through.
“I really like the new school,” Davis said. “It’s nice to see how much space there is. It’s nice to know that there’s going to be enough space for everyone.”