Joseph Vincent High School: The Next Phase

The District started with six design concepts. A recent survey of a representative sample of our community showed that two of those concepts share broad support. The board voted on September 10 to move forward with one concept - Concept D.

If approved by district voters, the project will:

• Build all core academic areas on the south side of Westerly Parkway
• Include a combination of renovation and new construction
• Preserve a portion of the existing north school building (natatorium and gymnasiums) to serve student and community needs.
• Build more than 25 new core academic classrooms for math, social studies, English, business, and languages; current classrooms are outdated (the newest classrooms were built in 1957) and overscheduled
• Add three new science labs; New Trier currently does not have enough science labs to meet student demand in a nine-period day, meaning some students must take lab classes in summer school or in early bird classes before the regular school day
• Include new classrooms and labs for New Trier's growing engineering and technology programs
• Replace outdated heating and cooling systems with new energy-efficient systems
• Make the entire campus accessible for people with disabilities by adding two new elevators and replacing buildings that now have entire floors accessible only by stairs
• Avoid the cost of $6 million in planned repair and maintenance to the existing buildings over the next five years
• Enhance safety with secure entrances and fire sprinklers
• Stay on the same footprint of land while doubling the amount of usable building space on the western portion of the campus
• Include a new library and new spaces for the music, theatre, and art programs
• Replace the 1912 cafeteria with one that can seat all students assigned each period

Artist rendering of the birdseye view of the new high school

As we move from design to construction, our attention will be refocused on what happens inside of our schools. This fall, groups comprised of students, parents, faculty, staff and educators will work focused on learning and culture in our Middle School and High School. We will be using a theme to engage in conversations and learning together. That theme is: Change how you see. See how you change.