High School Building Committee 6/30/2004
Educational Program Specification
White Paper Summary
HMFH Architects prepared the proposed Educational Program Specification for Wayland High School, which consists of a Narrative and two tables: the Educational Specification Tables and Academic Area Matrices, and the Basic Educational Space for Planned Program. This white paper summarizes the specification, describes its purpose and use, and highlights the key assumptions and characteristics behind its creation. The full text of the Narrative, as well as the spreadsheets, are available at the Town Library and on the website at www.waylandschoolcommittee.org.
The Educational Program Specification defines the size, number and use of the academic and educational spaces needed at Wayland High School. It does not represent a building design, and does not include spaces such as hallways, mechanical rooms, restrooms, and walls. It will be used to develop the building designs, and to prepare preliminary cost estimates. The specification also includes a benchmark matrix that compares key characteristics of the WHS spec with implementations in comparable towns.
The team worked closely with Superintendent Gary Burton, Principal Charlie Ruopp, WHS Administration and WHS teachers and educators. Each department was asked to provide written input and participated in several meetings to discuss their practices and requirements. The team analyzed the utilization and scheduling of existing spaces in detail. They modeled classroom scenarios to study the effect of changing enrollments, class sizes and room utilization. The team also reviewed relevant state and other best practice guidelines for planning academic spaces.
The team then prepared an initial cut at the primary matrix, which is organized by department and lists each space, its purpose and use, and the size in square feet. The matrix compares existing space with the proposed space. This matrix went through four iterations, as it was reviewed and refined through additional meetings with WHS educators and administrators. It now represents the "best cut" consensus between the educators and the architects.
The team specified the minimum size facility that will provide optimal delivery of the current WHS educational program, at the projected enrollment.
The specification will provide an appropriate school for 1000 students with an average class size of 20 and an overall classroom utilization factor of 80%, or 1,100 students (the School Committee requested capacity) at a utilization factor of 85%. It could accommodate 1,200 students by increasing the average class size to 23 with a utilization factor of 85% (a School Building Assistance maximum as well as a practical maximum). This will allow flexibility for enrollment fluctuations in the foreseeable future.
The WHS program offerings will continue to include English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Foreign Languages, Arts and Athletics. No significant changes are anticipated. Student schedules will continue to include free periods for independent study, collaborative study, socialization, and extracurricular activities. The plan assumes WHS will not reduce or cut participation below current levels, and will not eliminate extracurricular offerings. (Many programs already limit participation.)
Teachers will also continue to be scheduled with "free" periods and will not be assigned to dedicated classrooms.
The Ed Program Spec calls for an increase of about 58,000 square feet, or about 46%, over what currently exists. This increase only reflects educational program spaces, not the total for the facility. Of the increase, about 38% is for classrooms (mostly due to increasing the average classroom size from the current 637 s.f. to 750 – 800 square feet, 750 being the School Building Assistance fundable minimum size), 4% is other student academic spaces, 13% is for faculty and staff spaces, 7.5% is storage, 9% is the new auditorium, and about 23% is athletic facilities.
English and Social Studies classrooms are based on an average size of 800 square feet, less than the 900 s. f. originally requested. This number will comfortably accommodate an average class of 20 students and will suffice to house the occasional class of up to 29. A larger Business classroom is also included. These two departments will share a Humanities Reference Center with 8 computers and a dedicated Computer Lab with 30 computers.
Math classrooms have also been sized at 800 s.f. with two larger laboratory/classrooms. Math and Science will share a Reference Center with 8 computers. Ten Science labs have been planned as combination lab/classrooms and are sized at 1350 s.f.. Each pair of labs will share a prep and storage area. A smaller independent project room is also included.
Foreign Language classrooms are sized at a smaller 750 s.f. A Language Lab and a Language Technology Center Lab are both included with 25 computers, as well as a small Reference Center with 4 computers. One Health classroom is also provided. For these subject areas, the number of classrooms has been increased from 35 to 43. This will provide for the expanded student population, and will reduce utilization to 85 percent. The utilization for many of the current classrooms exceeds 85%. This causes teachers to move from building to building throughout the day.
In addition to the academic classrooms and laboratories, teacher workrooms and other faculty support facilities are provided. Each of the five main departmental centers will have a faculty workroom with individual work stations for each faculty member, a small kitchenette and space for hats and coats. Adjacent to each faculty workroom will be a conference room for 10, a departmental storage room, a copy room and a small "focus room" for private meetings and phone calls.
A band room and a chorus/orchestra room are provided, with adjacent band storage. This will allow for chairs, music stands and large instruments to be permanently set up. A small music lab, and several smaller practice rooms are also included.
Three special purpose art classrooms are provided as well as a photo classroom with a small Computer Graphics lab and a darkroom.
An 850-seat auditorium has been provided primarily for several grade meetings, large music or drama productions, and various community uses. Most towns comparable to Wayland have at least one major auditorium that seats at least 750 – 900 and has a stage with a full fly-space for drama productions.
In order to reduce program space but still provide as robust and flexible a facility as possible, the program combines drama and large meeting needs into a large auditorium, with a stage and seating for 850. For speeches and activities that take up a small amount of stage space, loose chairs could be added for a total capacity of about 1000. This auditorium can be sectioned off into smaller spaces for use as a black box theater with seating for 550, and a Media Forum with 300 seats and a small flat performance space. Each of the three spaces would be divided from the adjacent space with a moveable acoustic wall. The entire auditorium will share common sound/light control. Drama class can be held on the stage or in one of the flexible use portions of the auditorium.
WHS has a very high participation in athletics for a school of its size. Also, community athletics programs use these facilities extensively. Currently, for example, six high school basketball teams plus community teams share a two practice courts. There is a need for additional indoor court space in order reduce late evening practices for students, and to allow for expansion into additional sports like volleyball that cannot be currently provided.
The existing Field House is included in the spec, with its 1/11th mile indoor track. The space inside the track is planned for multi-purpose use and will be large enough with the removal of the bleachers to contain two practice basketball courts, as well as other track areas.
In addition a gymnasium is provided with a standard competition basketball court, surrounded by bleacher seating for about 840 spectators. With the bleachers folded back, the space would contain 2 practice basketball courts or wrestling areas. This space would be the largest meeting space in Wayland and could seat the entire student body and staff, or up to 1,640 at Town Meeting with 800 loose chairs on the court.
A number of other smaller spaces are planned for use by WHS as well as community use, including fitness and aerobic rooms, multi-purpose rooms, storage rooms and wrestling practice space. Girls and Boys locker rooms are provided for students as well as a small visiting team room.
Library and Media Center
The Media Center is planned to be smaller than today, by minimizing the spaces between stacks and using higher stacks as well as the existing mechanized storage [H1]. Since the space is widely used for collaborative and independent study, additional study areas and small meeting rooms have been provided. A total of 48 student use computers are planned. The current single Library Computer Lab will be replaced by the departmental computer labs. An Academic Tutoring Center is also provided for any student to go for help with academic work or time management, not just children on Ed Plans.
Guidance facilities will include 9 offices for staff, a conference room, a combined Career Center/Guidance classroom and support areas. Special Ed spaces will be enlarged and six small breakout spaces have been added.
Though the Administration originally requested a space large enough to allow a single seating of the student body at lunch, for easier scheduling and meetings, the size of the commons was reduced. The program now includes a space for up to 500 students, and two lunch seatings are planned until after the student population increases to over 1,000. The new facility is planned at about the same size as the existing facility, but would be more efficiently designed. A [H2] faculty dining area is also included.
A small amount of additional office and conference space is planned to accommodate higher staffing levels due to increased enrollment. A small increase in custodial storage space is also planned.
Computer Support and office space have been expanded slightly. Maintenance areas have also been expanded to include storage of outdoor equipment such as snow blowers.
The spec includes program space for the TEC Collaborative (TLVC), a special education program in which Wayland participates, and for Community Access Cable TV. Both these programs would pay rent for the space but would not contribute to construction or renovation costs.
[H1]There is already this mechanized storage where the librarians have to retrieve books so whatever staff is needed now will continue to be needed.
[H2]The new faculty dining area is larger than the one they currently have but smaller than the one they had for years until students took over the Commons Annex.