BERKSHIRE DEBUTS NEW SCHOOL

Berkshire Opens New $52 M School

By: Paris Wolfe

When 1,350 students and 162 staff and teachers return to Berkshire Local Schools in Fall 2022, academic life will be different...

PreK through grade 12 will report to one new 200,000-square-foot building on the Kent State University Geauga Campus, just north of Burton Village. These students will encounter a new education model as they shift to Project-Based Learning in a building created to support the change.

The facility is separated into three wings or “houses” by grade level. That means PreKelementary students learn in one wing of the building, middle in another, and high school in yet another. Each group has access to shared common areas, including the gym, auditorium and cafeteria. The campus also has courtyard areas and athletic fields. In addition to Project-based Learning, the new school is ready to showcase educational options that include vocational education through Auburn Career Center and/or college education at Kent State Geauga.

Being neighbors with KSU enables collegebound students enrolled in College Credit Plus to learn from KSU instructors in the high school wing or at the KSU facility. Meanwhile, students interested in allied health, diesel mechanics and other technical careers have spaces for learning those skills. The new building facilitates students’ learning for workforce success and moves them from decades-old buildings that were inadequate.

Each wing, for example, has makerspaces engineered for the age group to inspire creativity and problem-solving. These spaces go far beyond the labs of yesteryear to include various tools and materials to build prototypes and models.

These are all key to Project-Based Learning. “This is a shift from the traditional, lecturedbased educational philosophy where students are seated in rows, and the teacher is stationary at the front of the room,” says Berkshire Superintendent John Stoddard. He came into the position as the project was already underway and managed it through the completion.

“This approach has the teacher acting as the facilitator of learning instead of the filler of empty vessels,” he explains. “This is important because when the students are active learners, it leads to deeper learning and more ownership over the learning process.” Employers value the skills this develops. In fact, in an official study by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, 93 percent of employers said they value workers’ critical thinking, ability to solve complex problems, and communication skills more than grades.

The district has been preparing teachers for the shift. “We spent the better part of an entire school year defining the skills we wanted our students to have when they exit our system,” says Stoddard. “Once we established that, we had to decide how it would be possible to facilitate that because the staff was already working their hardest, and their plates were full. The result was that we needed to shift our instructional methods, and we spent that school year learning about and preparing for a Project-Based Learning approach.

“Each wing has makerspaces engineered for the age group to inspire creativity and problem-solving.”

“We then devoted large blocks of our teacher training and in-service time to creating project-based lessons and activities with the goal of a three-year implementation plan. Each year we added another layer,” says Stoddard, “and we have made sure to create a training for all new staff to the district in order to introduce them to project-based learning.”

Still, change can be challenging. “It takes time to get acclimated to a new instructional method,” he acknowledges. “We spent a lot of time educating our staff on the change process, the sense of loss that naturally accompanies any change, and the stages of grief they would undoubtedly move through. Our staff has responded incredibly to this change, which is a testament to their desire to continue learning, growing, and creating the best environment for their students.”

Change all started in 2012. Then-president of Geauga Growth Partnership Tracy Jemison talked to various businesses about their employee needs. “At that time, the local workforce was becoming an issue,” he says. More college graduates existed than jobs and fewer skilled laborers than open positions. “Businesses were looking for problem solvers who could think on their feet, had a good work ethic,” he says. “For us to compete, we needed to have a versatile workforce.” That led him to learn more about STEM schools as well as the project-based learning model. He wasn’t the only one thinking about change. At the same time, school board president John Manfredi approached leaders about similar issues.

These challenges coincided with the consolidation of Thompson/Montville’s Ledgemont School District into Berkshire Local Schools. The newly merged district became eligible for state funding for new schools. A dream started to form.

As the dream evolved, it included building a high school on the KSU Geauga branch campus. Leasing land from the university would save the district real estate expense. Meanwhile, the university benefits from the natural pipeline of graduating students to the branch campus.

As the dream became a plan, the next step was funding. State allocations for new facilities usually require a 92 percent local match. With some legislative work that changed. The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission allocated 55 percent, while the community raised 45 percent. Local funds were secured in May 2018 when 66 percent of Berkshire district voters approved a 38year bond issue to raise $28 million. And the Great Lakes Cheese in Troy Township and its founders, the Epprecht family, donated $2 million.

“When the students are active learners, it leads to deeper learning and more ownership over the learning process.”

Each group has access to shared common areas, including the gym, auditorium and cafeteria. The campus also has courtyard areas and athletic fields.

The new school cost a total of $52 million. While Berkshire’s share was $18.7 million, the levy’s added $10 million covered additions such as a high-tech classroom for vocational training on large diesel engines – a highdemand job in Geauga County. The money also supported an auditorium and an additional gymnasium that state funding didn’t cover.

The project experienced delays because of pandemic-influenced supply-chain delays. However, construction will wrap up in time for the 2022-2023 school year. “I’m excited for the students going there,” says Jemison. “The classrooms are arranged for collaboration. Students will learn to do critical thinking and problem-solving. They will be better prepared for the 21stcentury workplace and the wonderful career opportunities that exist now and in the future.”

“Our mission has always been to work with our communities in developing and supporting pathways to lifelong learning and to promote the value of earning a degree at Kent State University,” says Angela Spalsbury, Dean and Chief Administrative Officer at KSU Geauga. “Fifty-four years of graduates contributing to a thriving economy in our region is our testament. This new partnership between higher education and our public school system is integral to that mission. It is all for our community.”

The district’s four older buildings – two elementary schools, one junior/senior high school, and the Board of Education Building -- were sold or repurposed. The Board of Education building will be converted into a diesel (medium/heavy truck) technician lab for students and the district’s transportation department.

John Stoddard

Berkshire Superintendent