District U-46 plans to spend $7.1 million making improvements to Larkin High School’s culinary, child care, health care sciences and science classrooms in preparation for the district’s conversion to a career pathways high school system.
“For the educational pathways project, Larkin High School has been identified as the first location where we will start implementing the needed construction to support the programs that will be in place,” Plant Operation Director Sheila Downs told the school board Monday when laying out the proposal.
Most of the work will be done to classrooms in the school’s D wing, already in use for the culinary, child care, health care and science programs, documents presented to the board said. The first phase of the pathways program is to launch in 2021.
The culinary space is not big enough to meet student demand for the courses and lacks the industry standard equipment and layout needed for the new pathways programs, documents said. The redesigned space will be set up for multi-purpose uses for restaurant and catering work.
Among the improvements to the health care science rooms will be electrical upgrades and the creation of sanitary spaces, which the new curriculum will require, the proposal said.
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Because industry certification is one of the health care science pathway program’s objectives for students, the Larkin program will require at least three modernized classrooms, with one of them being a lab/clinical classroom, documents said.
Downs said district officials also decided to renovate some of the school’s science classrooms, which she described as “antiquated” and in need an upgrade. The reworked lab space will be able to house new equipment and provide flexibility for science and STEM pathways programs, she said.
The child-care classroom changes proposed will be done with the intention of having the program certified by the Department of Children and Family Services, Downs said. A new outdoor playground will be part of the upgrade, she said.
In order to accommodate the work, which will start in the spring, culinary classes currently held in the D wing will be moved to mobile classrooms after spring break, Downs said. Eleven classes and one office will be housed in the temporary space, she said.
“We’ve worked with the teachers, and our (Career and Technical Education) coordinator has worked specifically with the CTE teachers to provide alternative learning opportunities,” said Lela Majstorovic, assistant superintendent for secondary schools instruction and equity.
“But (students) could still do some different types of culinary lab lessons. They do have hot plates and other things you can put in a mobile classroom.”
If approved by the school board, construction work will begin April 7 and should be substantially completed by Aug. 3, the proposal said.
Money for the renovation work is included in the district’s 2019-20 capital budget and will be funded with money earmarked for operations and maintenance.