Schuylkill Valley High School Gets A New Lease On Life

Schuylkill Valley High School
Gets A New Lease On Life

The 37-year old school has expanded from
112,000 sq. ft. to 125,000 sq. ft.

The auditorium was
totally refurbished.
The high school's
spacious new
library.

The biology lab
with window
wall infill.

Located on a 114-acre educational campus, the Schuylkill Valley School District's three buildings are far enough apart to retain their own identity, but close enough to share resources.

The Schuylkill Valley High School, Middle School and Elementary School can share athletic fields, parking areas and even some educational staff. In fact, instructors sometimes walk between buildings in good weather.

Each unit has its own equipment inventory and its own staff, but large mowers, snowplows and heavier equipment serves district needs all over the campus.

The single-story high school was constructed in 1960, so when the district outgrew the 112,000 square foot school, the big decision was whether to replace or renovate the existing school. After an analysis of the building, BASCO Associates determined that the quality of materials and the condition of the 35-year old school made it more feasible to save and renovate the existing school.

A decision to expand an existing high school creates extensive phasing challenges, since a large project requires that the work take place while school is in session.

It was also a major task for school administrators, because the very detailed phasing schedule had to be worked out with the principal and other district officials. Planned school activities were kept on schedule in order to keep the renovation project moving. Input on phasing and the impact of construction work was gathered from department heads who reported to BASCO through Principal John D. Rio.

"It went very well," said Rio, "we held some initial meetings to outline which rooms they could have and then we moved students and staff around while the work was done."

"Usually we gave them six to eight classrooms at a time as we rescheduled activities into other sections of the building."

Renovations included additions to five areas of the building along with a new roof, new mechanical systems, electrical service, improved lighting and windows.

The design included air conditioning as well as increased energy efficiency from new boilers and better insulation throughout the school. The new boilers are approximately half the size of the old ones. While they are normally gas-fired, they can also burn oil when the natural gas supplier requests the school go off line.

A new computerized control system maintains temperatures throughout the expanded 125,000 square foot structure.

"It's the same kind of equipment that we have in the Elementary School," said Building 8 Grounds Director Craig Strunk, "so our technical support people don't have to deal with learning and maintaining two different systems."

Some of the biggest changes in the high school came from the elimination of single pane glass window walls. Large panels of glass walls in classrooms were infilled so that each refurbished instructional area has two energy-efficient window units that provide light, but minimize heat transfer, trimming energy costs in hot and cold weather.

Single-pane glass walls were also replaced with brick infill in lobby areas near the gymnasium and the auditorium. Throughout the structure, existing brick surfaces were cleaned and repointed.

One of the new additions houses three new classrooms. The design also incorporates a plan for future classrooms if increased enrollment makes them necessary.

Another addition houses a spacious new library constructed inside an existing central courtyard.

The new library is a major asset. "It's much larger, giving us the ability to bring classes in for instruction as well as providing more storage space for more books, new computers and other resources," said Rio.

The auditorium was refurbished with carpeting, a new ceiling, lighting and acoustical improvements.

Renovations to the 35-year old gymnasium added new electrically moveable bleachers, electrical basketball backboards and scoreboards. After replacement of nearly half of the maple floorboards, the gymnasium floor was refinished. All of the improvements in the gym are complemented with a state-of-the-art lighting system.

During a photo-shoot for this article, architectural photographer Bryson Leidich checked the gym repeatedly with a digital color meter.

"This must be a new type of light. I've never seen a gym that's lit so well," said Leidich. "Normally they're cold green and blue, but these are excellent colors."

"They're more pleasant to the eye and perfect from a photographic standpoint -- very, very close to daylight, good true color!"

Leidich photographed the gym with nothing more than available light.

Construction for the $7.7 million renovation and expansion of the Schuylkill Valley High School took approximately one year. Improvements in the school are reflected in enthusiasm and attitudes of students and educators. Now the 37-year old school is better than ever, and the gymnasium is what you would expect as the home of the Schuylkill Valley Panthers, Berks County's wrestling champions.