Ground Breaking Ceremony at Fulton County Schools New Ronald E. McNair Middle School

ATLANTA, G.A.– April 2014 – The ground breaking ceremony for Fulton County Schools new Ronald E. McNair Middle School, originally named after Dr. Ronald Ervin McNair, Ph.D, a physicist and NASA Astronaut who died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger as part of the STS-51-L mission, was held on Friday, April 18th at the existing facility in College Park, GA.

Attended by Fulton County School Board Members, McNair leadership, staff, and students, the new school, which first opened its doors as M.D. Collins High School in 1968, will be located next to the existing building and will feature varying typologies of learning spaces to accommodate 21st Century Learning necessary to prepare students for the future.

The new middle school is the 10th facility to be site adapted to fit the Fulton County Middle School Prototype originally designed by Stevens & Wilkinson. The school, which was changed to the meet the needs of a middle school curriculum in 1998, is the first facility in the district to implement immersive learning environments directly into its design.

The school’s new classroom layouts will include a number of open, lab-based spaces and a newly reconfigured media center, all designed to better support personalized learning and large group instruction.

In an effort to better unify academic teams and increase creativity and collaboration among disciplines, a two-story lobby was incorporated into the design and will feature a tiered seating and lecture area with adjoining classroom wings that will also include more traditional classrooms and lab areas.

Building highlights include 46 core classrooms; 12 science labs; nine specialty labs and classrooms; a media center; gymnasium; music and art rooms, as well as a number of “neighborhood” immersive learning environments that will house team lecture and collaboration spaces; individual work areas; a tiered lecture area; and teacher planning and administrative spaces. Estimated project completion is expected for the summer of 2015.

About Stevens & Wilkinson:

Founded in 1919, Stevens & Wilkinson is a full-service architecture, engineering and interior design firm committed to providing clients with “Smart Design Solutions.” The firm’s combined design capabilities lead to projects executed with creative, innovative, and holistic design solutions. Learn more: www.stevens-wilkinson.com.