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GUSD building a world-class facility

The Clark Magnet School, which is to focus on science and technology, will be second to none

 

 


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Warren Swil

 

 

    

Glendale News-Press 
February 10, 1998 

By Warren Swil

It is possibly one of the better kept secrets in the Glendale school district, but the Clark Magnet School under construction in La Crescenta shows all signs of becoming a world-class facility.

Plans for the science and technology high school are already far advanced. If the ambitious goal of opening the school to ninth- and 10th-graders in September is to be met - as I am sure it will - then the pace will quicken over the coming months as construction on the physical plant continues.

To assist school officials with several aspects of planning for the facility and its programs, about 30 business leaders - among them, experts in several disciplines - have been invited to serve on an advisory task force along with 60 administrators, teachers, parents and students. The first meeting of the task force was held Thursday at the school; I was delighted to attend and participate with this high-powered group.

After four hours of presentations and discussions, I think all the participants would agree on at least two things:

•     The level of enthusiasm displayed by those closest to the project is phenomenal and infectious. I cannot recall seeing such excitement among administrators and teachers about* any other project, with the possible exception of last year's bond measure that raised $180 million for school repair and modernization.

• The district and all officials involved are committed to doing it right, and there is every indication they are being completely successful.

Clark Principal Doug Dall brought the group up to date on progress already made.

The reconstruction of three rooms in one existing building, including the"one where the task force met, has been almost completed. These rooms give an excellent, concrete idea of how the school's physical plant will take shape over the next six months.

The main two-story classroom building, formerly a junior high school, has been gutted, with all asbestos removed and major • structural upgrading under way to meet seismic safety standards. A new "auditeria" - a combination cafeteria and auditorium - is under construction, as is the revamping of the library. Surveys are in progress to plan new, more efficient parking areas.

With its focus on science and technology, the school's new classrooms are being designed and built to accommodate both today's high-tech gizmos and tomorrow's.

One particularly forward-looking decision was to have special electricity cables installed by the city of Glendale from Foothill Boulevard up New York Avenue to provide sufficient power (and that's much more than required for other schools) to run one computer work station for each of 500 students, and then have sufficient additional capacity to double, if necessary, the number of work stations and still have enough power for cooking in the cafeteria, overhead projector an laser printers.

Although enrollment of only 500 to 600 students is planned for September - Clark opens to only ninth- and 10th-graders this fall - by the start of the school year in 2001 enrollment is projected to be 1,100. Quite clearly now is the time to make sure all students be adequately served.

Classrooms have been designed to maximize flexibility. Along the walls of each room, about three feet above the floor, a conduit has been installed that conceals power and data cables. The panels enclosing the cables can be easily removed so that cables can be added, removed and upgraded with ease.

Deputy Superintendent Don Empey provided an overview for the task force of the mission of the school, and how officials have studied similar facilities around the nation. Empey emphasized how the Clark school is to be used as a model for the district; thanks to voter approval of the bonds last year, all school district facilities are due for repair and upgrading, and the lessons learned at Clark are to be applied throughout the district.

Things as seemingly mundane as the color of the walls, lighting fixtures, heating and air conditioning - all take on increased si icance when one is planning a facility that will accommodate sensitive equipment. Computers are notoriously cranky in the heat; students will get sore : eyes if the lighting throws a glare on their screens; sufficient light switches must be available to allow one part of a room to be dark while the other is light. In a high-tech school, clearly, design , is much more complicated.

Apart from planning the physical plant, district administrators are also concerned with two other issues that must be resolved quickly: transportation and admissions criteria.

Dall admitted the district has been somewhat surprised by the overwhelming response to the school. When the concept was  first approved last year, the question on most people's mind was a variation from the movie, "Field of Dreams:" If we build it, will they come?

The answer has been a resounding yes. In fact, it seems there will be many more applicants than the school can accommodate, so a subcommittee of the task force was formed specially to develop recommendations for admissions criteria. The primary goal will be equity, Dall and Empey said, but it certainly seems like some kind of academic performance criteria will be needed.

Transportation is another logistical headache officials must solve before September. Students will be coming from throughout the district to Clark, which is at the very northern tip of the city. Unlike at other schools which draw their students from the immediately surrounding neighborhoods, Clark students will need transportation from all over Glendale. Another subcommittee was formed to make recommendations on this vital issue.

This subcommittee and the various others formed from the group of 80 attending the task force's first gathering will meet during the coming two months and report back to the whole group with recommendations in early April. It is likely many of the recommendations will then be forwarded to the school board for implementation.

It is an exciting time for Glendale schools, and all area residents: School officials are creating  the future of education, and it is now. When the Clark Mag net School opens in the fall, it is : likely to be a world-class facility and a model for the nation. That's quite a feather in our collective caps.

•     WARREN SWIL is weekend editor of the Glendale News-Press.

 
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