ASHLAND — Ashland’s Board of Education offered a virtual tour on Monday of the district’s planned renovation of the science classrooms and hallways in the high school.
The virtual tour, crafted by architects, showcased a wonderland of new technologies and classroom layout, propelling the student body’s science studies into the future.
“I just want to say how excited I am about all the new things we’re looking at,” said Melissa Baker, Spanish teacher and President of the Teachers Association. “The high school is very excited about coming into the 21st Xentury with all the air conditioning and the nice classrooms and everything.
“I know the science teachers are excited about the new facilities they’re going to have.”
The majority of renovations for the science classrooms look to begin in the summer of 2020.
The virtual tour can be viewed at http://www.ashlandcityschools.org/district/news/ahs-science-classroom-renovations.
Ceiling lights in the hallways are among the upgrades. Architects are planning on replacing current ceiling lights with circular and hanging LED lights in hallways, creating a brighter, more contemporary setting for students.
They also decided to remove a large number of the lockers from the hallway, potentially replacing some of them with tables and chairs for small study areas or other communal meetings for the students.
Alterations will also be taking place inside the science classrooms as well, including Biology, Chemistry and Physics classrooms. Adding cubbies in science classrooms were deemed necessary, so students can store possessions while conducting scientific experiments.
Classrooms will also feature tiered seating, work stations and sinks — necessary equipment for experiments.
In addition to renovating the science classrooms, the Board of Educators also decided to add ELA (Extended Learning Area) Small Group Rooms throughout the hallways.
“One of the things we had talked about was that we wanted an area for our science students to have their own place and to be able to spend time there; to congregate, but to also do small group work,” said superintendent Doug Marrah.
