MASTER PLAN MISSION STATEMENT

It is the mission of this master plan to make Newberry High School a model rural high school. All planning decision will be directed toward providing a high quality core and expanded curriculum within the safe and attentive environment which is expected of a smaller school. The school will be recognized as a teachers training site. Technology will be integrated into all academic areas in a usable and accessible fashion. The school will remain an important community center for the Newberry area. All improvements will be designed to meet current needs and provide for future opportunities.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Science:

The science area should be designed which maximizes the diversity of science
education options available to Newberry High School students by, at minimum, including a technology area. The redesigned of the science area should consider student and teacher safety. In order to maintain and expand its reputation for teachers training, science facilities must provide modem advances and design for teaching science.
National level design information is available to help plan the size, design and type of future science facilities. Science education experts recommend a cluster, or hub layout for the new science area.  The new building will buildout with six classrooms surrounding a shared teacher planning and storage area.

Media Center:

The Media Center needs modernization to allow for access to the different learning resources available today. Good Media Center design will incorporate space for video collections and the equipment needed to maintain video resources, CD ROM resources for use in students' computers and at computerized teaching stations, Internet access and a site for production of multi-media projects.
The new Media Center should be located in a free-standing building for public access. The space should be designed so that later expansion is cost-effective and avoids disruption to programs as much as possible.

Electrical System:

Electrical service is inadequate and inappropriately designed to meet current and future needs. The facility is currently using the maximum available capacity for electrical and computer service. To maximize efficiency, the mechanical and electrical system upgrades will be made as each area of the school is improved. This is the only way to ensure that the design and balance of the upgraded system serve the individual needs of each program. Stress on the systems in the existing building will diminish as programs move to newly constructed buildings, removing some of the current demand.

Technology Systems:

The needs of Newberry High School students are changing. Student focus is increasingly moving from vo-tech to college prep programs. The school's ability to respond to technology is a major concern. Through internet access, the school can provide programs that supplement existing curriculum without expanding space and faculty. By installing adequate electrical and mechanical service and regularly upgrading computer equipment the school can access these resources.

Good training focuses on making students comfortable with technology. Therefore, technology systems must be accessible. The well-designed system will offer distance learning as a group function in the auditorium. It will also include adequate computer stations in the classrooms to allow for distance learning and advanced curriculum study on an individual basis. Six stations in each classroom are recommended. Other amenities required for a complete system include computerized display and video presentation at teachers' stations. In short, the availability of conduit throughout the facility will be important to ensure the classrooms accommodate changing opportunities in
technology.

Administration:

The area dedicated to administration at Newberry High School is considerably smaller than allowed by state requirements for a school this size. According to architectural analysis, the existing 3,400 square feet of administrative space will need to grow to over I 1,000 square feet by the end of the planning time frame. There is a need for meeting space accessible to the principal and assistant principals in the main administrative area. Separate meeting space will be provided in the dean's area, which is to be located separate from the main administrative activity. A centralized space is needed for teachers' planning and production adjacent to each academic area.

Classrooms:

The current typical classroom configuration does not allow for the teachers in various disciplines to coordinate their planning or teaching activities. Some of the classroom spaces are too small or lack the appropriate facilities to accommodate the type of programs that should be provided today. Classrooms need to be of a size and configuration adequate to allow for a minimum of six computer stations each. These stations should be placed in a manner that allows students to work independently or in small groups.

Some specific program areas also have significant problems to overcome. The family science classroom should be redesigned for instruction and interaction and could be enhanced by the availability of kitchen facilities adequate to teach hospitality courses. Exceptional education (ESE) would be better served by having classroom space near the other classroom programs. The program also requires a separate counseling/meeting/ testing room with storage for text and testing materials. The business program should be taught in a setting where students learn at workplace stations that contain the equipment they will be expected to use in the work setting.

The lab should be designed to include an area for mock conference meetings. The band room is too small, is not appropriately designed, has inadequate storage for our size program and is located too close to other classrooms.
The Arts program has not kept up with current technology to allow for video production mainly due to a lack of space and could be better located to take advantage of natural light.

Auditorium:

The auditorium is of an adequate size and the structure of the space precludes many redesign options. The main concern regarding the auditorium is that it be redesigned to function as a site for distance learning and teleconference learning. Renovations would include lighting, size, sound and seating design. The space needs to be adequately served by cabling to accommodate whatever technology changes become available.
The stage space will be renovated to allow for storage of props and other related supplies. The dressing rooms are programmed to be added during the redesign of the space currently used by the art program.

Athletics:

Not all of the fields are lighted. Other improvements needed include new visitors
stands at the football field and the construction of a concession, restroom facility at the baseball fields.

Additional gymnasium classroom space is needed to allow for specialized programs such as dance or wrestling. The athletic department also has very limited office space.  The building that currently houses the weight training program is small and in poor condition and should be demolished. New and expanded space for weight training will be in the proposed gymnasium addition. A serious concern for the athletic program at this time is the provision of truly equal locker rooms for the girls' varsity teams. The existing varsity locker rooms can be redesigned for capacity and function and then reprogrammed for use by the physical education program. New locker rooms should then be built to serve both boys and girls varsity activities.

Cafeteria:

The cafeteria space will need to be expanded to accommodate an increase in population. Increased cafeteria seating area will be provided by the relocation of the Media Center to a free-standing building.

Mechanical System:

The mechanical system is not functioning properly and evenly throughout the facility. There are some indoor air quality concerns which can be addressed by cleaning or possibly replacing ductwork. Five AC units were not changed out with the others in 1991 and will need to be replaced. The school chiller system is computerized. This is a complex system that is not year 2000 compliant which is an issue of immediate concern. It has been recommended that, when it is time to replace the system, a simpler system would be more cost effective to install and maintain.

Plumbing renovations will be necessary to accommodate relocation and expansion of certain programs. These upgrades will occur in phases as needed. Additional plumbing will also be provided for new restrooms. Most restrooms in the existing building will be left in place. The relocation of the Media Center and the redesign of the Cafeteria will provide space for the creation of new student and faculty restrooms.

Other than the regular maintenance items, mechanical and plumbing system improvements will be made in phases related to other improvements.

Music Program:

The band room is too small and has inadequate storage.  It is located too close to other classrooms and too far from truck and bus loading.  When the facility was built, it was the practice to design band rooms with stepped floor systems that functioned as risers.  It is currently best practice to design band rooms with flat floors. Given all the problems associated with the current band room, it is best to build a new facility. The existing band room would be well suited to a choral room. The new band room should be located near the auditorium and a loading area.

General Facility Upgrades (including ADA, drainage and roofing repairs):

Drainage is a problem in several locations on the site and will be addressed holistically in the planning and building process. The civil engineer recommends maintaining the current sink hole site and the surrounding area for drainage. All new site improvements will involve pumping site drainage to that area to consolidate drainage in this natural depression. It is hoped that this design will minimize, as much as possible, the future development of sink holes.

The roof of the main building needs to be repaired. The co-op area experiences significant water intrusion with each rain. Some roofing repairs need to be made to outlying buildings as a matter of ongoing maintenance.

Parking and Circulation:

Accessibility issues should be addressed throughout the facility. These improvements will be made as a part of the phased renovation of the existing buildings. Parking and circulation are major concerns throughout campus. Some circulation issues will be addressed by the development of a more identifiable entrance for the administrative building. Traffic circulation also needs to be redesigned to accommodate better stacking and clearer access. Sidewalks throughout the site are inadequate. Pedestrian travel will be improved by the design of an integrated circulation system tying together buildings and parking areas.

Parking needs to be expanded and designed with security in mind. New parking lots are planned adjacent to buildings on the north and west sides of the campus. These new lots will allow for the separation of traffic. The sites for new parking lots will provide more direct and, thus, safer access to the more active portion of the campus. The lot adjacent to the gymnasium will be a great help in alleviating safety concerns as it consolidates sporting traffic. Lighting of new lots and walkways will be designed to provide better visibility.

An increase in the number of buses needed to serve the growing population will require redesign of the bus loop. The redesign would entail the construction of a secondary stacking lane. If carefully designed and located, the new drive will not interfere with the capacity of the drainage facility need to accommodate the new drainage plan. More immediate plans for the bus loop include the extension of paved and covered walkway along the entire extent.

Agriculture:

Development of the area west of the main building will result in the need to move the agricultural program activities from that site. Transition will be made easier with the provision of upgraded and new facilities in the new location.

One possibility for the Agriculture Program is the future focus on agricultural mechanics. A future building site is planned for the area just southwest of the current academic building. This site could be used for any expansion but is particularly well placed for agricultural mechanics.

Administration -- Teachers' Lounge:

The current lounge is much too small and is programmed for expansion. This improvement will take place as a part of the phase that expands the cafeteria, restrooms and locker area.

Facility Image:

Despite community pride in the performance of the school, citizens and staff express dissatisfaction with the physical image of the school. The entry and resulting image of Newberry High School's main facility is seen as weak and in need of enhancement. Visitors not familiar with the school have difficulty finding the entrance. The lack of a significant entrance feature also leaves the building, and thus the school as-a-whole, without a distinct identity. The problem of image be addressed by relocation of the entrance to a new structure. Building expansions and new parking access will be on the west side of the existing building. The new administrative and media center buildings will create a new entrance and image for the campus.

Population Projections

The School Board of Alachua County Staff bases population projections on data provided by the State of Florida.  The State of Florida gives the SBAC a number of students it projects, and will fund, for the County.  The SBAC staff then determines how to distribute that allocation as student stations per school. The methodology used by SBAC in calculating the distribution involves the application of a straight line projection to allocate students by grade based on historic percentages for each school. For instance, if Newberry High School had been recorded as having IO% of the County's seniors in the last census, then Newberry would be projected to have IO% of the seniors for the next fiscal year.

This method does have some limitations. It does not consider known development plans or county-wide growth trends. It also does not account for historic growth rates of individual schools. Alachua County officials and area developers were aware of plans for thousands of new homes near the edge of the Newberry High School Zoning District. Although these developments are not yet approved, they are in the planning stage. If the nearby population grows as expected by County staff, a Master Plan that does not consider current population distribution trends may not respond appropriately to actual need. It is therefore important to develop the Master Plan based on all known growth factors.

A Master Plan is a dynamic document that must be amended as new data becomes available. The North Central Florida Regional Planning Council (NCFRPC) is currently updating population distribution projections for its region, which includes Alachua County. These updated projections are based on information gathered from numerous sources and include both known and anticipated development activity. They also include any updated census data collected by Alachua County local governments. These projections will be available in August of 1999 and will provide the SBAC staff with accurate growth trends upon which to base their own projections.

Currently the SBAC is projecting Newberry High School will have 788 students at the end of the five year planning period ending in 2004. Although this is the population number upon which funding will be based, it is not representative of current conditions or historic growth patterns. The school population in now 700 and has been growing at an average rate of 50 students per year. These circumstances indicate a population of 900 by 2004 would be a more realistic planning number.   SBAC staff agrees it is important not to under-plan the facilities.  They recommend using the 900 student count with the understanding that improvements may be funded at a lower number.  This is an appropriate approach to planning for the following reasons.
 
First, improvements made to the campus will be made over an extended period of time.  During that time, updates will be made to the State’s population projections and to the SBAC distribution projections.  These updates will reflect the actual population of the school as it grows.  Thus, the design size of each new building will reflect the updated population projections.

Secondly, each new building can be located and designed to accommodate expansion.  Designers will locate plumbing and other permanent building features in walls that would be effected by future expansion activities.  An example of such a case may be the design of a building including six science labs that would be built in two phases of four and two labs each.  The designers would locate the plumbing and major electrical support for phase one in walls not disturbed by the phase two expansion.  Given the option, it would be more cost effective to build a larger building in the first place than to build and then have to expand a short time later.  If funding requirements make that impossible, however, buildings designed for expansion are the appropriate planning response to the problem.

Finally, schools such as Newberry High School with a population of under 1,200 students, are designed to a capacity of 80%.  That means that only 80% of the student stations are expected to be in use at one time.  This leaves some flexibility in dealing with a rapidly growing population.

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