The new school lives up to the District’s aspiration for progressive learning methods.
Multi-configurable classrooms with moveable furniture, sit-to-stand desks, and modern learning technology give students choice and variety.
In the hallways, flexible folding glass partitions are used by staff to create on-the-spot breakout rooms.
Fun ergonomic benches allow for spontaneous learning experiences.
The school offers integrated PreK classrooms and an Occupational & Physical Therapy program. The latter helps younger students and those with special needs to learn skills such as hand dexterity and eye movement.
With only three acres to work with, the design utilizes every inch of the site.
The school is located in the heart of Templeton Center beside the village green. The design team rebuilt surrounding roads to include safe drop-off and pick-up areas, while the new parking lot is combined with an adjacent police station.
Outdoor spaces include a new K-5 playground and a new preschool playground, both serving as an extension of the interior learning environment.
The school’s major facilities—cafetorium, gymnasium, and media center—are located immediately off the main entry to improve after-hours community access.
The design emphasizes rural Templeton’s strong connection with nature.
Earthy tones characterize the ground floor with its heavily textured brick. The second floor (green) and third floor (blue) feature engineered wood siding, while the gymnasium is clad in slate-like porcelain tiles.
The central stair includes translucent balustrades with embedded branch details. An organic wood bench is located underneath, while textured wood paneling ascends through the three floors to a central skylight.
Artwork made by Templeton’s students is immortalized in the walls of the school.
Based on a color-scheme per grade, students decorated and glazed their own handprints. These were converted into wall tiles for the main entrance. Large wall murals in the stairwells and hallways feature historic images of the Town. These visual displays celebrate the Town’s legacy and create learning opportunities.
