Project Title: Pathway Approach to a New High School and Career Technical Center

Firm: Lavallee Brensinger Architects

Submitted for Consideration in: Architecture

Client: Sanford High School

Location: Sanford, ME

Project-At-a-Glance:
This High School and Technical Center created an integrated secondary school that would enhance the student experience by highlighting learning opportunities and increasing student interest in Career and Technical Education. Complementing the learning communities, a large Agora Stair is the heart of the school, designed to bring the students together.

Project Narrative:

The High School and Technical Center, serving 17 communities, sought to create an integrated secondary school that would enhance the student experience by highlighting its unique opportunities and increasing student interest in Career and Technical Education. Curriculum bridges, between typical high school areas of study and specific Career Pathways, were strengthened through a thoughtful design that co-located specialized labs with related learning areas.  The phrase “Integration with Purpose” was coined to describe the facilities' co-location of similar programs.

The 332,000sf facility is organized into four Career Pathways, each with its own identity, allowing students and teachers to craft a learning experience tailored to the student’s interests. Career Pathways, which operate as schools within the school, include Science and Technology; Business and Marketing; Arts and Communications; and Health and Human Services.  Each pathway offers different Technical Labs, and different delivery methods to implement common curriculum like math, history, and literature. The design responds accordingly, offering different identities through color and display. The Pathways accommodate a range of learning styles via numerous differentiated instructional spaces. Corridors, designed with technology rich collaboration spaces, encourage small group and individual learning. This Pathway approach supports the curriculum, facilitates learning and socializing, and encourages student independence.

Complementing the smaller learning communities, the heart of the school is a large Agora Stair.  This space is designed to bring the school together and serve a variety of functions from presentation, to dining, to speaking to lecturing. Venues like the 920 seat Performing Arts Center connect seamlessly with modern technology and related learning spaces such as: Music Suite, Video Production labs, and TV Studio – a community broadcast area. Large spaces, like the competition and practice gyms, offer further community use. From the start, the design intention was a completed educational facility that was also an outstanding community center.