Redding School of the Arts Now Open
The features are terrific. Every aspect of this is purpose-built for an arts school. Any other facility is just a compromise.
The morning of Tuesday, September 6th was a landmark event in the history of Redding School of the Arts, a Redding-based public charter school. After years of visioning, planning, and construction, the new campus finally opened at 955 Inspiration Place, off of Shasta View Drive in Redding.
The new location unites more than 450 students in grades kindergarten through 8th grade who have been taught in two separate locations for years.
Students are now finding their way around their new school. Anticipation about the new space inspired kids and their parents to turn out in record numbers to the first Back to School Night on September 1st, along with other family members and friends eager to explore the classrooms, playground, and unique features of the school.
The design of the school – and the entire learning campus – is based on a couple of essential ideas: that the built environment should create opportunities to show students, parents, and teachers that sustainability is a part of each day; and that creative, colorful – and perhaps most important – fun surroundings can inspire students to learn.
Sustainable, creative, and healthy building design is critically important for the future of our children.
The two-story, 77,000 square foot building includes classrooms, art rooms, music and dance rooms, a library and information center, a cooking classroom and a technology room.
Each of the kindergarten classrooms has its own scaled down bathroom, a story nook, and doors that open directly out onto the playground. Each regular classroom has a sink, water fountain, refrigerator and an aquarium.
A key feature of the space is an amphitheatre seating up to 600 people and offering enclosed dance and drama rooms that can be opened to create performance venues.
Perhaps most importantly, the school is aiming for LEED certification at the platinum level.
LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. What this means for students at RSA is that they spend their days in classrooms and other learning spaces flooded with natural light and fresh air, and an absence of toxic emissions caused by paint, carpet, and other synthetics found in new buildings.
The goal of the new campus is to be “net zero.” Net zero means the energy consumed by being in the building is equal to or less than the energy generated. The design works with Redding’s climate rather than against it as a result of situating the building so the majority of windows face north, maximizing natural light while avoiding excessive glare and heat gain.
Sophisticated lighting controls sense how much artificial light is needed. Lights shut off automatically when no one is in the room. Because of this, the school expects to reduce its energy use more than 90% below that typically used by a building this size. Sun and wind will help the school generate 100% of its own energy.
But how will we track this? Anyone can view the “building dashboard” system to see how much electricity is being used, produced by solar, wind, and water, as well as how much rainwater is stored and being used. A weather station adds its information. The system is designed to be viewed online, but anyone can see this information over a display located in the main lobby. These monitoring systems not only help us track usage, they show students – in a very visible way – how the school is doing.
ABOUT REDDING SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
The school believes when it comes to young minds, art enriches, expands and prepares students for a full life in useful and unexpected ways.
Redding School of the Arts opened its doors in August of 1999. The school was created at a time when local elementary schools’ visual and performing art programs were in rapid decline, or nonexistent. The founders believe that education in its entirety is complete when the arts are woven throughout the academic program and when students are instructed at their academic level.
From this educational platform Redding School of the Arts was created. The school serves a diverse ethnic and social economic population reflecting the greater Redding area. However, the learning needs of our students are different. Students attending RSA have a real interest in the arts. This often means students who are not necessarily the highest academic achievers, but who excel in the arts, or students who excel in academics and excel in the arts choose to attend. The school has been able to document over time that lower academic achievers are personally challenged academically and in the Visual and Performing Arts. Being a small school allows yearly adjustments to the school's class structure, such as the combination of grade levels within the school or of the higher level math classes to meet the students' educational needs.
Redding School of the Arts is recognized nationally for its innovative approach to special education. The educational model focuses on identifying students with exceptional needs as early as possible and meeting their educational needs in a proactive, preventive fashion.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Redding School of the Arts is to provide those students who have an interest in visual or performing arts with skills for the 21st century: the ability to read, write, speak and calculate with clarity and precision, and participate in the life of the community. It seeks to accomplish its goal of high academic and behavioral standards through a student-centered, thematic approach, multicultural environment with emphasis on the arts. This charter school enables students to become literate, self-motivated and lifelong learners who appreciate, enjoy and respect the visual and performing arts.
For more information on this project visit:
Photo (below) ©2011 Steve Whittaker.
