SNOW HILL – Though discussions continue between the Worcester County Commissioners and school system officials regarding the construction of a new Showell Elementary School, the design process is moving forward.
Joe Price, facilities planner for the Worcester County Board of Education, and Brad Hastings of the Becker Morgan Group outlined the design process at this month’s school board meeting. The first phase of the process, Hastings said, would involve figuring out what teachers needed in the new building.
“We try to get the educational specifications done before we even get into design,” Hastings said.
According to Price, the first step in replacing the aging Showell Elementary School was last year’s feasibility study. That study recommended the 38-year-old school — which currently only has room for up to third grade and includes a number of portable classrooms — be replaced rather than rehabilitated.
When the commissioners approved providing the school system with $255,000 toward the design of the new school earlier this month, Price and his associates were able to begin the process. The first step, designing educational specifications, will involve meeting with teachers and school staff and defining their space requirements. There will also be public meetings to allow parents and community members to have input. Price estimates it will take eight to 10 months to complete the educational specifications, which will then be submitted to the state for approval.
After that, a schematic design for the school will be developed. That will be followed by design development and the drafting of construction documents.
“Each step requires us to submit these documents to the state before the next step,” Price said.
Hastings said that during the educational specifications process, designers would work with teachers to make sure all of their needs were addressed. He said for example, they’d be asked to consider their storage needs, space requirements and acoustics for their classrooms.
“It’s up to us to help walk them through to make sure we meet their needs,” he said.
He added that once a floor plan was developed, a copy of it would be blown up so teachers would have the opportunity to write comments on it to provide further guidance to designers.
School board member Doug Dryden said he was glad there would be public input during the process.
“That’s a very important aspect,” he said. That gets the community involved.”