Category Archives: Construction

Adequate Space Requirements For Mega High Schools

Posted on February 2, 2018 by | 35 comments

DeKalb Schools has traditionally built relatively small neighborhood schools. The district has been using these specifications for minimum space requirements when building new schools:

DeKalb Schools is adding seats in North DeKalb and is entering the era of Mega Schools. The new Brookhaven Cross Keys high school will have a capacity of 2,500 students. Surely a school with more students will need more common spaces – larger/additional gym; significantly more cafeteria space; larger/additional locker room; expanded hallways; larger/additional band room, choir room, etc …
Last December I asked the administration about the minimum space requirements for a school with a 2,500 student capacity. Chief Operating Officer, Joshua Williams, shares his thoughts

Joshua Williams

Joshua Williams
DeKalb Schools Chief Operating Officer
Date: 12/8/2018

The District’s targeted space requirements are provided in the High School Education Specifications and are for a new replacement high school with a 1,600-seat student capacity. These targeted space requirements are based upon the recently built Chamblee Charter High School which opened in 2014 with a 1600-seat student capacity. The Georgia Department of Education’s Guideline for Square Footage Requirements for Educational Facilities was used as a starting point to develop the High School Education Specifications and was enhanced based upon the District’s programming needs for curriculum and instruction.
This High School Education Specifications document will be updated to reflect the needs identified for the new larger Cross Keys High School (2,500 – seat student capacity) slated to be constructed under the District’s E-SPLOST V program. At such time, the District’s new targeted square footage requirements for the Cafeteria and Physical Education spaces will be established for any new replacement high school with a 2,500 – seat student capacity.

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Fulton County Schools Districtwide Educational Space Standards
“[DeKalb Schools] High School Education Specifications document will be updated to reflect the needs identified for the new larger [high schools]” –Josh Williams
Thanks Josh. In the mean time, let’s check out what the Fulton County School District (FCSD) does for their mega schools. FCSD has half a dozen schools with 2000+ students.
In 2015, Fulton County Schools engaged a nationally recognized educational facility planning firm to develop a Facility Master Plan.
Fulton County Schools Districtwide Educational Space Standards
Recommended Spaces for a high school with an 1,850 FTE capacity:
Page 24 – Music: Orchestra, Music Technology, Band, Chorus, Marching Band: High school band room needs to hold up to 200 students plus many large instruments.
Page 26 – Athletics – Participation in athletic activities have shown to have numerous positive impacts on student achievement, discipline, attendance, and overall productivity of the students. In order to support these athletic endeavors, the District must provide a variety of facilities.
Page 48 – Physical Education Spaces In addition to the standard gymnasium with raised track and 2,000 seat bleachers, a high school with a capacity of 1,850 will also need an auxiliary gymnasium with 375 seat bleachers.

MY CONCERNS
DeKalb Schools plans on constructing a 750-seat, 38-classroom, two-story addition to Lakeside High School extending the current footprint and bringing the new capacity to 2,500 seats. Chamblee Charter High School will be getting 600 seats bringing capacity 2,410 and adding 600 seats to Dunwoody High School bringing capacity there to 2,100.
None of the spaces recommended by the Fulton Schools Educational Space Standards are budgeted with these expansions.

RELATED ARTICLES

Lakeside HS Council
Not A Fan of the Building Additions
January 24, 2018 – To balance out the racial diversity and socio-economics of the student populations attending Lakeside HS as well as evenly distribute the students from the lengthy Buford Hwy Corridor, the E-SPLOST V Project List includes a 750-seat, 38-classroom, two-story addition to Lakeside High School (LHS).

DeKalb Commissioners Not A Fan of the
E-SPLOST High School Building Additions
February 15, 2017 – DeKalb County Commissioners are unanimously asking the DeKalb County School District to build a new high school in Doraville and not add a bunch of classrooms to Lakeside, Dunwoody, and Chamblee Charter High Schools.

750 More Seats at Lakeside HS? Why?
January 30, 2017 – Lakeside High School is currently cramming 2,184 students into a building with a capacity of 1,756 students. Only one other school in North DeKalb scored a below average 2016 School Climate Star Rating. How will adding 750 seats to Lakeside High School improve their School Climate Star Rating and academic achievement?

Is 600 More Seats At Chamblee Charter HS A Good Idea?
January 17, 2017 – Please help me understand why adding 600 seats to Chamblee Charter High School is good for anybody in that community? I suspect that any support is driven by redistricting.

Pros and Cons of adding 600 seats to Dunwoody HS
January 7, 2017 – Moving forward, I’m trying to understand the support for the building addition at Dunwoody High School. The speculation that some Dunwoody residents would be redistricted out of DHS seems to be the only reason for any continued support of the building additions.

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Posted in Chamblee High School, Construction, Dunwoody High School, Lakeside High School

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Plan For More Trailers in Dunwoody and Chamblee

Posted on May 5, 2017 by | 32 comments

In DeKalb Schools there are almost 4,000 open high school seats across the county. We could redistrict tomorrow and all of our problems with over burdened common spaces and over crowded high schools in Dunwoody and Chamblee would be instantly gone.
However, the school district will be adding 600 – 750 seats at Lakeside High School, Dunwoody High School, and Chamblee Charter High School to balance out the racial diversity and socio-economics of the student populations attending those schools as well as evenly distribute the students from Doraville and Buford Hwy across more affluent schools. I believe there are many reasons why the school district has chosen this path. The main one is they do not want to redistrict because the guidelines for redistricting wouldn’t accomplish the demographic blend they are seeking in North DeKalb.
In the mean time, here is the plan for trailers at the High Schools in Dunwoody and Chamblee.
Chamblee Charter High School (CCHS)
Chamblee Charter HS awaits the addition of 600 more seats expected to be completed on or shortly after the Fall of 2020. Fall 2016 enrollment was 1,624 students. CCHS can expect a Fall 2017 enrollment of about 1,721 students and 4 new classroom trailers. If construction of the seat additions is finished on time, CCHS should max out at 10 trailers by 2020.

Chamblee Charter High School
Year (Fall) Estimated Enrollment Portable Classrooms
2016 1,624 0
2017 1,721 4
2018 1,858 6
2019 2,006 10
2020 2,099 0 (New Additions Completed)

Dunwoody High School (DHS)
In the Fall of 2016, DHS had approx 1,822 students and 4 trailers. 2 modulars were recently added. DHS is expected to have at least 12 portable classrooms before the seat additions are completed. It is undetermined where those trailers will go and if they will ever be inspected by the city.
On Monday the Dunwoody Council will vote on an MOU with the School District for building plan review and inspection of capital and facilities improvements projects within the city boundaries. While the school district and the city bang out the details of the MOU, will our children are going to school in un-inspected trailers?

Dunwoody High School
Year (Fall) Estimated Enrollment Portable Classrooms
2016 1,822 4
2017 1,935 8
2018 1,941 8
2019 1,977 10
2020 1,976 10
2021 2,028 12
2022 2,093 0 (New Additions Completed)
Note: Dunwoody High School, Chamblee Charter High School and Lakeside High School are expected to be at 100% capacity after all SPLOST V projects are completed.

FAQ – Facility Planning & Feasibility Study
Question – Wouldn’t it be best to build the schools a little bit larger to allow for higher than expected attendance levels in the future? Put another way, why build to a utilization of 100% rather than adding additional capacity?
School District Answer – District staff are aware of the uncertainty inherent in any future forecasting. Rather than risk the cost of “overbuilding” by adding much more capacity than is needed, or “underbuilding” by building much less capacity than is needed, the District is recommending adding capacity as the forecast data indicates is needed. These forecasts will be updated annually as we track demographic shifts across the District. Our buildings will be designed so that, if warranted, we can add additional building capacity to accommodate future student capacity needs at each school where possible.

Related Posts

Pros and Cons of adding 600 seats to Dunwoody HS
January 7, 2017 – Moving forward, I’m trying to understand the support for the building addition at Dunwoody High School. The speculation that some Dunwoody residents would be redistricted out of DHS seems to be the only reason for any continued support of the building additions.

Is 600 More Seats At Chamblee Charter HS A Good Idea?
January 17, 2017 – Please help me understand why adding 600 seats to Chamblee Charter High School is good for anybody in that community? I suspect that any support is driven by redistricting.

750 More Seats at Lakeside HS? Why?
January 30, 2017 – Lakeside High School is currently cramming 2,184 students into a building with a capacity of 1,756 students. Only one other school in North DeKalb scored a below average 2016 School Climate Star Rating. How will adding 750 seats to Lakeside High School improve their School Climate Star Rating and academic achievement?

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Posted in Capital Projects, Chamblee High School, Construction, Dunwoody High School, Lakeside High School, SPLOST

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