Fredericktown Middle School

In April 2010, the Fredericktown Middle School was destroyed by a fire.  The school district and community quickly worked together to get the students back into a temporary learning environment until the school could be re-built. After Fire The remains of the existing building proved to be unusable after extensive forensic testing.  Therefore, the school district grasped the opportunity to build a new middle school at the high school location to create a campus.  This presented the opportunity to share sports facilities and reduce transportation time.

The new Middle school boasts a state-of-the-art science laboratory, computer labs, and a multi-media library.  The gymnasium is designed as a designated FEMA 361 shelter and sized for tournaments.  Students entering this school will have the opportunity to learn with new equipment and furnishings along with cutting edge technology that includes smart boards and computer banks in every classroom as well as ipads available for multi-media learning.  The Main entrance to the school opens into a Commons / cafeteria during the day.  This spacious gathering spot – complete with a double height clerestory for natural daylighting –  functions as overflow space during indoor sporting events and as seating for the adjacent performing arts platform.  A discretely-placed operable partition converts the Performing Arts platform into a bonus classroom during school hours.  The new music room houses all of the required music storage with flexible power supply and acoustics.

Budget, always a concern for school districts, has been a strict compass for this project. The materials have been selected with cost in mind, but foremost, the quality and required maintenance in order to minimize operating costs in the future.  Brick, a durable, environmentally sustainable product will be used for the majority of the building’s cladding, while fiber cement board will be incorporated to provide long-term durability at a lower cost.  The interior is comprised of multiple materials that combine to be environmentally responsible even on a tight budget. Some of these materials include cmu block walls, high-efficiency lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and no-wax resilient flooring.

Soon, the halls will be filled with eager students, curious to explore their new middle school stomping grounds.  This building will usher in the new era of the Fredericktown School District, bringing with it the hope of the future, and the excitement of opportunity.