Homewood-Flossmoor High School is deliberating another building project converting and updating two wings of the South Building.
Staff and students again are being asked for their input on space needs as the District 233 school board begins an exploratory process on how it will use the vacant B-Building and make updates to G-Building.
The 15 classrooms in B-Building were previously used for science classes but are now vacant as students moved into the new science wing this school year. G-Building houses automotive, welding, Project Lead the Way and other Career and Technical Education programs, as well as math classrooms.
Having available space is a good thing, said Superintendent Jennifer Norrell. The question now is: What will become of this space?
Norrell told the Chronicle that whatever plan is presented it will maximize the space in B-Building. She asked permission at the Aug. 11 Finance Committee meeting to start working on a plan that will not only address the space needs but also align those needs to meet the Illinois State Board of Education’s College and Career Readiness Pathways. High schools are expected to meet the state’s standards by 2029.
The plan is to present the school board with a well-thought-out proposal, one Norrell calls “a total plan with a through line to student achievement and how we’re going to fund it.”
Finance Committee Chair Chris Riedel said at the board’s Aug. 19 meeting that this is the “exploratory stage…we want to see a range of options so that the full board can get a look at this…and understand what’s available, what’s the cost and the most appropriate use of the space and resources.”
Riedel pointed out that “renovations for G-Building have environmental and safety implications” that would be priorities for that project.
Over the next two months, administrators and a teachers’ committee will be reviewing two sets of data already collected through student surveys and gathering input from teachers and staff on how to H-F’s space can blend with curriculum needs.
“The next step is to try and match our current coursework and build it into programs and pathways that mirror the state’s clusters. There are seven approved clusters and as of this point H-F had two approved pathways, one is automotive and one is education. We need to expound upon those, obviously, to be able to meet the needs and interests of all our students” through the College and Career Readiness standards, the superintendent said.
“If we can make our facility match those needs, then we will have a fluid plan. As we do that, we have reserved the funding ($10 million from H-F reserves) and thought about creative ways to fund these without any additional cost to taxpayers. We’re very clear about that,” she noted.
The Finance Committee will get a look at collected data at its October meeting.
Norrell said once there is a plan for the space, the architects will be called in for their input and ideas. DLA Architects did present some preliminary ideas.
“We have state of the art additions,” in the performing arts wing, the science wing and the culinary areas. “We want to carry that into everything we do, and we want it to last into the future,” she said. The science wing spaces foster that group thinking and provide collaborative work spaces, something the superintendent would like to see replicated in B-Building.
