‘A’ for effort

Progress has been organized, decisive and swift in planning the new Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School.

Since the former school was destroyed by fire June 5, school staff, district administrators and a close-knit north Valley community has cooperated for a single purpose — rebuilding. From putting out the fire to planning a temporary campus to the recent selection of a school design, the community has had buy-in every step of the way.

First, the folks at the Upper Susitna Senior Center set the tone by stepping up for youth and education. The center offered its property as a temporary campus for two school years. The Borough has since transformed the senior center property into a school campus, and now parents, staff and students have even more to look forward to — construction.

After many meetings, revisions and debate, a single-floor design has been selected for the school (the first renderings are seen in today’s Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman). It’s a remarkable design and an example of community collaboration in the Mat-Su Borough School District. Residents of the Upper Susitna can truly take ownership of their new school as a community achievement.

With a capacity of about 200 students, some have asked why, if the district is building a new facility anyway, it won’t be larger to accommodate more growth. Under the district’s insurance policy, reconstruction costs are only covered for a facility of like size. One of the benefits of rebuilding, even if the 50,000-square-foot building will be about the same size as the old school, is an opportunity to design the space better.

Under the new design, architect Michael P. Carlson has configured much of the school’s space to be flexible, which means it can be used in a variety of ways, determined by the school’s needs at any given time. Technology and the ability to use the latest technology as it becomes available to the school will help those students be better prepared when leaving Su Valley for higher education or the work force.

We’re also impressed the design allows for future expansion. This also could prove a bonus for the community at large as it pursues other amenities like a pool or football field.

While it may be a daydream for some students, nobody truly enjoys watching as his or her school burns down. In the case of Su Valley, where the school is also a community gathering place and the heart of the area’s social life, the blow comes especially hard. We applaud the Upper Susitna community, from its seniors to its students, for becoming a model of how to incorporate a community into the process of designing a school.