After a successful referendum for $125 million in May of 2015, Independent School District #273, Edina Public Schools, didn’t limit the focus on changes to individual buildings but rather on broad based district-wide initiatives to create personalized and extended learning environments, update special education and media center spaces and incorporate flexible furniture throughout all facilities.
Edina High School pushed to include these goals into their additions and renovations by relocating 9th graders from the district middle schools to the high school, aligning grades with comprehensive 9-12 experience standards. The addition is a mixture and combination of classroom and lab space as well as specialist areas and personalized learning environments throughout to support a variety of instructional styles. The main cafeteria and media center were completely transformed to create an open learning commons and support space across two levels of the building, with adjacent student support spaces for counseling and special education for easier access and integration with the student body. Activity spaces were enhanced through the addition of a new field house, auxiliary gym and renovated locker room and fitness spaces for all grades as well as the community. Flexible, technology-ready furniture replaced the existing outdated and rigid educational furniture as part of the design to enhance the themes of extended and personal learning spaces.