Essentials Magazine Essentials Fall 2019 | Page 34

Community Engagement
(left) October 2015 - The team invites the community, staff, and students to participate
in focus group work-sessions about their Shared Vision for the future facility.
(above) January 2018 - The team leads the first Sunday Series Town Hall.
session work-products were posted to
the project website. Every item was
addressed and responded to. One of the
key elements of success for the effort
was being responsive and adjusting to
what worked and what didn’t.
Throughout the design phase,
FCCPS and the city’s General Govern-
ment continued monthly Sunday Series
community meetings that provided up-
dates on the school and economic devel-
opment projects. Concurrently, B&D’s
communications team held student
focus group sessions, and the entire
project team met regularly with school
staff and city agencies. This ensured all
end users provided insight and that the
design met the vision and requirements
of FCCPS, city building agencies, and
the community.
After over 200 meetings (and
counting), the regular, collaborative,
and transparent communications
process led to a forward-looking
design for the new school. It would be
a sustainable campus with contempo-
rary educational concepts, including
collaboration areas in a variety of
sizes, maker spaces, fabrication labs,
variable intensity learning labs, flexi-
ble-use learning studios, appropriately
sized performing arts and athletic fa-
34 essentials | fall 2019
cilities, provisions for use of the school
by community groups (e.g., band,
theatre, recreation, civic meetings,
weekend school), sustainability, and a
way to recognize the history, alumni,
and supporters of the school.
Additionally, the incorporation of
system and building zones will allow for
the shared or partial use of the facility
while maintaining safety, security, and
energy efficiency. Another feature: an
innovative structural grid accommodates
future changes in programming and
enrollment and provides an open and
visibly connected learning environment
that encourages collaboration among
all of its users. Finally, the building is
designed to achieve LEED® Gold cer-
tification and Net Zero Energy through
the use of geothermal wells, photovol-
taic panels, and energy-efficient MEP
systems. Truly the new Heart of the
Community.
The story of the new George
Mason High School is a complex, but
carefully planned puzzle. Ultimately,
though, establishing and following
through with a clear, transparent com-
munity engagement plan has been and
continues to be the key to a successful
project. Stay tuned for updates when
we open in 2021!
n
DR. PETER NOONAN serves as the
Superintendent of Falls Church City
Public Schools.
He began his
career as a
special educa-
tion teacher in
New Mexico,
and previously
worked with
Fairfax City and
Fairfax County
Public School
systems as Su-
perintendent, Assistant Superintendent,
principal, and assistant principal.
MS. DEISY BRANGMAN serves as a
Senior Project Manager for Brailsford &
Dunlavey. In
this role, she
has led mul-
tiple project
and program
management
teams over-
seeing public
school district
capital project
portfolios total-
ing over $4B in
the Washington, DC area.