After evaluating a potential high school renovation, the Cedar Falls Community School District determined a new 1,400 student replacement high school adjacent to the University of Northern Iowa would best suit the community’s goals of providing 21st-century learning environments for students and staff. The new high school proactively supports the district’s initiatives including professional learning communities and their student-focused Power Hour.
Planning strategies included an Insight Week where INVISION dove into the school’s culture cultivating conversation with students, administration and staff, initiating data gathering tools, and gaining community input. All this feedback served as the basis of our initial planning concepts. The new comprehensive high school includes a competition pool, innovative career labs, multipurpose auditorium, community commons, athletic venues and collaborative small learning communities. Special design considerations include:
- Development of small learning communities to break down the large scale of the building
- Decentralized administration to help monitor safety and better engage with the student body
- Siting strategies to make the most of potential program sharing with UNI CTE/Power Hour Floor which will showcase projects and student work in action as well as serve as a community resource
