November 26, 2002

Media Contacts:

Rosann Doran
Public Information Officer
303.438.6308

Broomfield and Adams District 12 Five Star Schools have announced the planned construction of a new elementary school to serve the Broomfield community. The kindergarten-through-fifth grade school will be located in the McKay Landing area, south of 144^th Ave. and west of Zuni St.

The site for the new elementary school was acquired from the McKay Landing developer at no cost to the school district through Broomfield’s public land dedication requirements. Broomfield will also work with the developer to install a playground adjacent to the school which can be used by both the school and the neighborhood.

Broomfield’s Services Expansion Fees (SEF) are used for joint-use facilities with the various school districts that serve Broomfield. "This project is a model on how the school district and the city and county can work together for the benefit of kids," said Kirk Oglesby, Broomfield

director of Governmental Affairs, who helped negotiate the project.

According to Rod Blunck, District 12’s assistant superintendent, the school is still in the conceptual design phase, and will be modified in accordance with land conditions, educational philosophy and other contributing factors.

"At this stage we have identified the site and now the schematic portion of

the process begins," Blunck said. Over the past two years Adams District 12 has worked to develop and refine educational specifications for a new prototype elementary school. The new school is being designed to accommodate approximately 600 students, Blunck said.

The new school is one of several new schools authorized by the District’s successful 2001 school bond election.

Blunck said the school has been programmed for "maximum flexibility" in order to accommodate various instructional plans. It is subdivided into pods which will house 175-200 students. Each pod includes general classrooms, plus a multi-purpose classroom which can be divided for small group instruction, and a flexible learning space which can be used for group activities, including technology based programs.

According to Blunck, by designing for maximum flexibility, the school can expand to accommodate approximately 700 students, if necessary, without the use of temporary classrooms (mobiles).

The design objectives for the new prototype elementary school include:

1. optimizing the learning environment for students of Adams District 12, and
2. conserving finite energy resources.

Blunck said that learning typically involves two, or more, of the five senses, which are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Therefore, the new school will include high

quality natural lighting, good acoustics, and good indoor air quality. Using natural lighting can reduce the demand for artificial lighting, which in turn reduces the size of air conditioning systems, which reduces energy consumption.

As the design progresses, the district will explore ways to optimize various building components including high performance glass, good insulation, vestibule entrances and other ways to minimize air infiltration. The design team will also explore ways to reduce water consumption.

The school will be a single story structure with approximately 67,000 square feet.

The current construction budget is approximately $7.5 million. The new school is

scheduled to open in the fall of 2004.