Keeping Our Youngest Learners Safe
Safety and security improvements on the new Elementary Campus
will include the separation of automobile, school buses, and pedestrian
traffic.
Enhanced security entrances will also be part of the new and
renovated buildings on the Sloan Campus. The new entrances will
feature a dedicated security office inside the main lobby of each
building. This enhanced safety feature currently does not exist at any of
the educational buildings in the District.
“Protected playground areas are another feature we are excited
about,” said Mr. Koury. “This level of safety for our younger students
does not exist today. The playground areas will be protected by natural
barriers and will be away from vehicle traffic.”
“The architectural design of the new Intermediate building will be
safer than anything we could design for our older buildings,” said Mr.
Kozlosky.
The 1,400 students in grades K-5, who will eventually attend the
primary or intermediate elementary schools, will have the ability to
evacuate during an emergency to another safe haven. Each school will
act as the evacuation site for the other school on campus. Students and
staff will now be able to walk safely across the area bridging the schools
to the other building in the event of an emergency - a feature that does
not currently exist at Sloan Elementary School.
“We did not want to throw good money at bad buildings,” said Mr.
Herb Yingling, School Board Vice President. “Student and staff safety
were paramount throughout our discussions during the planning of
each building. Our goals were to develop facilities that enhance Franklin
Regional’s educational delivery well into the 21st Century, create a safe,
secure learning and recreational environment for our students and staff,
and keep the property values high for current and future homeowners. I
feel confident and proud that together we accomplished all of our goals
for this project.”
An Inviting Place for the Community
Franklin Regional is excited that the new campus will include areas
specially designed for parent convenience and use during the school
day, as well as educational areas that can be used by all residents of
the community after school hours. These spaces are built not only with
community use in mind, but are also designed to align with our school
building security plans.
For example, the new community spaces in both buildings are
designed to simplify parent drop-off/pick-up. These spaces can also be
used to support the work of our PTOs (Parent Teacher Organizations)
and other community groups, providing them with working, planning,
and meeting spaces.
A state-of-the-art, auditorium-style Creative and Performing Arts area
may be utilized by community groups for public theater-type events
along with the spaces in the new gymnasium and cafeteria. This space
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MURRYSVILLE
Parent-Friendly and Student-Driven Design
Parents will also experience increased convenience in the way of
parking for both day and evening events conducted on campus.
“The Elementary Campus site is specially designed for ease of
parent drop off and pick up of their children,” concluded Mr. Koury.
“The new campus features larger auto “off-road” queue lanes and
special parent/PTO community rooms that are adjacent to the
entrance areas of each school.”
“From a purely physical standpoint, the average 5-year-old is 40
pounds lighter and 14 inches shorter than the average 11-year-old,”
said Mr. Neavin. “The developmental differences are too numerous to
mention. Yet, currently at FR, these students share the same spaces,
furniture, play structures, lunch queues, and restroom facilities in
the three existing K-5 schools. A trend over the past several years
has been to separate elementary schools into a K-2 building and
a 3-5 intermediate school. There are a lot of successful examples
throughout the Commonwealth, which demonstrate that this strategy
works.”
“In our school district buildings, there are a number of issues that
affect our students,” said Mr. Paul Scheinert, School Board Director.
“The Elementary Project very effectively addresses and resolves many
of these issues in the elementary schools. It is a credit to those who
have diligently worked so hard and so long to develop it.”
“It is the responsibility for every school district to contribute to
the mental and emotional well-being of their students,” offered Mr.
Neavin. “By creating separate educational spaces for 5 to 7-year-old
learners and 8 to 11-year-olds, students can thrive in a nurturing
atmosphere that aligns with their learning and developmental levels.
Franklin Regional’s primary and intermediate buildings were designed
with the students in mind. The Sloan Campus surrounds our youngest
learners with the wonders of nature and takes the educational
experience in the right direction.”
Mr. Neavin goes on to say, “The youngest learners in the group, in
grades K-2, will be attending school with other children who are close
to their own age and size. When the students move from the primary
school (K-2) to the intermediate elementary (3-5), these students will
enter the next level of their academic experience together as the
academic rigor begins to step up. These students will move into a
building better suited to their current stage of development. When
they eventually reach the Middle School (6-8), they will do so with a
group of students they’ve known for their entire school experience
and who are now friends and classmates for the rest of their lives.”
“The Elementary Campus Renovation/Construction Project will
substantially improve building security and student/faculty safety
compared to existing facilities on School Road North,” said Dr. Larry
Borland, School Board President. “Visitors and parents will experience
these improvements in areas such as substantial improved vehicular
flow. In addition to the safety aspect, the new schools will offer an
elevated level of education opportunities to all K-5 members of the
FRSD community with a much improved educational environment
influencing both individual & collaborative learning.”
“As the world becomes exponentially more competitive, we are
entrusted as citizens of this community to ensure the continuous
development of future generations, and push to give our students
every opportunity to thrive in 2020 and beyond,” said Tarah Kurimsky,
FR parent, Franklin Regional Panther Foundation Board Member, and
resident of Murrysville. “We need to do so by leaving behind an even
more attractive community and school system than what was given
to us. A world class education is the known standard and we need to
carry on that FR tradition in to the future!”