The planning effort for Aledo ISD engaged the community in a combined visioning effort for both a new middle school and the transformation of an existing one, representing the first time the district split any of their secondary schools into two campuses. A combination of community input and targeted discussion around teaching and learning resulted in a conceptual framework for how spaces should function—not just for the middle schools, but for the district’s future campuses as well. In the end, the project proved that renovations can create parity with new construction, and that two schools can contribute to a united community and a shared sense of pride just as well as—if not better than—one.
Prior to the planning effort, the district had developed a philosophy for teaching and learning that Huckabee incorporated into design. Educators knew they wanted to utilize color, light, connection, and flexibility to deliver their educational model, and that their curriculum would aim to reinforce leadership, skill-building, and the four Cs of 21st-century education: communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. As such, the planning team focused on the types of spaces and adjacencies that would allow those elements to flourish.
The planning process engaged current students and educators, as well as alumni who walked the halls when the existing middle school had been the high school, from the 1960s to the early 2000s. A desire to stay rooted in tradition played a prevalent role in shaping how the facility would be re-formed. The stakeholders let Huckabee know what they wanted to carry forward, what they wanted to leave behind, and what they wanted to explore. They discussed how users would experience the school, tangibly and intangibly. In a student charrette, middle and high school students shared expectations for the environments they learn in. Ultimately, these exercises helped the team understand and fulfill the desires of the community and its learners.
