The New Albany – Plain Local School District and the Board of Education have taken the first major step in the building project by hiring an architecture firm.  The School Board approved the hiring of Moody Nolan to serve the district and is on track to break ground for the new building in the summer of 2013.

“Moody Nolan demonstrated the strongest vision for the connection of this school building to the entire community,” said Superintendent April Domine. “They are the right partner to help shape the future of our campus and provide that inclusive design approach that our community is expecting.”

Moody Nolan is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and the firm specializes in sports and recreation facilities, collegiate education, PK-12 education, public assembly centers, healthcare, retail, transportation and commercial work.  One of their greatest strengths is their ability to work as a collaborative team, working with the school board, community, administrators and teachers.

Public Engagement Opportunities

Thursday – Feb. 21, 2013
Staff and Community Engagement
Staff                     2:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Community        6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Mershad Hall

Tuesday – Feb. 26, 2013
Community Design Charette
Eco & Green technology focus
7:30 to 9:30 PM
The Jefferson Room at NAHS

Monday – Mar. 6, 2013
Staff and Community Engagement
Staff Session #1                     2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. at the MS Cafeteria
Staff Session #2                     4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Library
Community                             6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Cafeteria

Monday – March 11, 2013
Staff and Community Engagement
Staff Session #1                     2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. at the MS Cafeteria
Staff Session #2                     4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Library
Community                             6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Cafeteria

Wednesday – March 20, 2013
Staff and Community Engagement
Staff Session #1                     2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. at the MS Cafeteria
Staff Session #2                     4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Library
Community                             6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Cafeteria

Thursday – April 4, 2013
Staff and Community Engagement
Staff Session #1                     2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. at the MS Cafeteria
Staff Session #2                     4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Library
Community                             6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the 2/5 Cafeteria

Selecting an Architect – The District Process

The district posted a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to invite architecture firms to submit proposals in December 2012.  The district received 13 responses to the request and each was considered carefully and scored by an eight member subgroup of our Facility Advisory Committee.  The pool was narrowed to three firms that were invited to campus for interviews on January 24, 2013. The subgroup is comprised of four community members, four staff and the Superintendent.

Representing the Community:

• Natalie Matt, Member –  New Albany – Plain Local School Board
• Mike Klein, Member – New Albany – Plain Local School Board
• John McClelland
• Tom Rubey

Representing the District:

• Jen Denny, Principal – 2-5 Elementary
• Andy Roeth, Dean of Students – 2-5 Elementary
• Jon Stonebraker, Director of Technology
• Barry Zwick, Interim Director of Operations and Planning

During the interview process, the Facility Advisory subgroup and Superintendent Domine interviewed Moody Nolan, Fanning Howey and TRIAD.  The subgroup concluded that Moody Nolan was the best fit for the job.  They were impressed with their research into the districts strategic plan and mission.

Recent works by Moody Nolan include the new Reynoldsburg STEM School and the Ohio Union at The Ohio State University.  Both projects feature a great deal of forward thinking in the plan and design.  With the Ohio Union project as an example, Moody Nolan identified their process in the development and design of the building, which included working with a focus group of current OSU students, presenting an initial design then tailoring the final design based on student feedback to meet student expectations and perceptions of what OSU meant to them.  An additional strength is the commitment to engage New Albany students, staff and community.

The district is at the beginning of the process, the selection of an architect was the first step and now the district will launch into a very aggressive timetable to include extensive community and staff involvement.  Moody Nolan is best equipped to move the district forward.  They understand the necessary strategies that need to be developed to fast track the process and have the first-hand experience of working in a tight workspace, while school is in session – skills the district needs to complete the project on time and on budget.

Building For Our Future: A Discussion with Superintendent April Domine

Q: Congratulations on the Successful passage of Issue 50, what does this mean to the New Albany
Learning Community?

A: The New Albany – Plain Local School District is incredibly grateful for the support of the community in keeping the district moving forward. The number of people that were engaged in this campaign was truly remarkable and every effort that was made is greatly appreciated. As a community, we worked incredibly hard to make this a reality for our district.

We again thank our volunteers for the countless number of hours dedicated to this effort. We specifically wish to thank and acknowledge our campaign chair and New Albany Schools parent, John McClelland and his wife Angelika, our honorary chairs, and our neighborhood captains. We also thank our school board members, teachers, administrators and staff, parents, community members, students and donors who made this effort possible.

Q: What are the next steps in the process? How does a district determine the way going forward?

A: The district is currently engaged in securing an architect with experience both in engaging the public in the planning process as well as building innovative and flexible educational space. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued in early December 2012. There were 13 submissions and the district is now reviewing those proposals in order to identify an architect that will focus on engaging the community, faculty, students and administrators in designing the new space.

Q: What can the community expect as this process goes forward?

A: The community involvement element of building plans is becoming more and more a common practice in the design of schools. The architect selected must provide the basic guidelines for educational space and residents will be asked to share development concepts with educational methods in mind.

Faculty, students and the district facilities committee will also be asked to help create educational-learning opportunities that would best utilize the space. During the campaign we talked a lot about the use of innovation and flexible learning. The space that we are talking about building which the community has generously endorsed will afford the district to accommodate the overcapacity issues we are currently experiencing at 700 students. This will grow to over 1,000 in the years to come. The term “flexible” will enable the district to be responsive to this growth by enabling the necessary shifts of students to maximize our learning environments throughout the campus.

Q: Based on this ”flexible” space concept. What grade levels will be served in the new building?

A: That is the beauty of this concept. We are not going to be limited in our use or confined to a certain grade level in this building. Through the design process we intend to research best practices and provide the community with examples of how this will be a very different, innovative use of space, while developing a space that ensures a unique learning environment for the New Albany Learning Community and one we hope will be a model for other districts.

Q: When can the community expect to see construction?

A: The goal is to hire an architect in February and begin design work by spring on the new building. It is essential that the architect work within the projected budget and the planned timeline. Public participation and planning will begin in 2013 with the hopes of a design plan in the spring and to break ground in summer 2013. It is our plan to have a building open for the fall of 2014.

Q: For those familiar with the campus, where will the building be located?

A: At this time, based on the campus Master Plan that was developed in 2010, the intent is to build northwest of the 2-5 elementary building, near the cafeteria for the middle and high schools. Currently, there are playgrounds, recreational areas for children and a few modular units on that site. We also want to assure the community that when construction does begin, we will be working very diligently to communicate the changes they can expect; re-routing of drop-off points, parking transitions, and other issues to assist visitors to campus, staff and students.

This is an incredibly exciting time for the school district. Again, our thanks to the community for this support and it is our goal to build the future with a student centered approach and community involvement each step of the way.

Dear New Albany Parents and Learning Community,

Thank you for your support!  We had to wait quite a few days past Election Day, but the result was well worth the wait.  The Franklin County Board of Elections has notified us that Issue 50 has passed.  Officially, results will be certified this afternoon.

We are grateful for your investment in the future of our students and their education!

Today, we are a school district at a crossroads and your response of support ensures that we are able to continue the progress to achieve the vision of our schools for the future. We are incredibly thankful that you value education as an essential component of a strong community.

Immediately, we will begin the process to engage our staff and community in designing our new building with a commitment to delivering a flexible building within the approved budget.  Simultaneously, we will continue our financial work to contain operating costs as we move forward to achieve the district’s vision for the future

We value your support and do not take this trust lightly. We know this is a difficult economic time and understand that this was a significant request. We will take care to manage both the building project and the operating dollars with fiscal prudence, accountability and transparency.

We again thank our volunteers for the countless number of hours dedicated to this effort.  We specifically wish to thank and acknowledge our campaign chair and New Albany Schools parent, John McClelland and his wife Angelika, our honorary chairs, and our neighborhood captains.  We also thank our school board members, teachers, administrators and staff, parents, community members, students and donors who made this effort possible.

With sincere gratitude,

April Domine, Superintendent

Laura Kohler, Board President

Dear New Albany Parents and Learning Community,

Thank you for your support!  We are grateful for your investment in the future of our students and their education.   Today, we are a school district at a crossroads and your response of support ensures that we are able to continue the progress to achieve the vision of our schools for the future. We are incredibly grateful that you value education as an essential component of a strong community and we saw that commitment in action through your support

Although we do not know the final outcome of the election, it looks like we are on our way to victory. As we now know based on results posted by the Franklin County Board of Elections, Issue 50 is ahead by 87 votes. This difference eliminates the potential of an automatic recount.  If the trend in the outstanding provisional ballots follows our Election Night trend, we should be successful.  So, it’s promising!  Provisional ballots will be counted in 10 days.

We thank our volunteers for the countless number of hours dedicated to this effort.  We specifically wish to thank and acknowledge our campaign chair and New Albany Schools parent, John McClelland, his wife Angelika, our honorary chairs, and our neighborhood captains.  We also thank our school board members, teachers, administrators and staff, parents, community members, students and donors who made this effort possible.

Once we know the final outcome, we will immediately begin a process to engage our staff and community in designing our new building with a commitment to delivering a flexible building within the approved budget.  Simultaneously, we will continue our financial work to contain operating costs as we move forward to achieve the district’s vision for the future.

We value your support and do not take this trust lightly. We know this is a difficult economic time and understand that this was a significant request. We will take care to manage both the building project and the operating dollars with fiscal prudence, accountability and transparency.  Based on the close margin of support, we realize that we need to do more to communicate our district work with our entire community, continue to earn your trust and engage everyone in the discussion about our future.

Please watch for updates in the near future as to our final result.  We celebrate the commitment of our community to our children and your belief in the importance of education for a stronger New Albany.  Our schools are the heart of our community and with your support we will continue to provide the education that our students deserve.  It is incredibly rewarding to know that the community believes in the future we are building together for New Albany – Plain Local Schools.

With sincere gratitude,

The Win-Win areas of New Albany-Plain Local Schools have always been a part of the district. They were not added in after the agreement was made. In fact, the Win-Win agreement protects the district from additional student growth from thousands of acres of land in the northern area of the district. Win-Win assures that this land in the northern area will be transferred to the Columbus School District if it is ever developed with water and sewer. Win-Win property owners pay the exact same school millage as New Albany and Plain Township residents.

Click here to read more about Win-Win.

Many people in the New Albany – Plain Local Community have been asking for background information on the bond and levy for the district. We are permitted to provide you the facts as it relates to the future challenges of the district for informational purposes.  We also have begun to gather “Frequently Asked Questions” and will continue to grow this list as we move forward, doing our best to post and respond accordingly.  We invite the community to join the conversation by submitting questions on the effort. Click on the images below to view the information.