population, upholding a strong commitment to equipping students for life after graduation. Superintendent, Dr. Mark Ernst, conveys,“We want our students, when they leave us, to have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need for whatever’s next in their life. We start that process in kindergarten and all through high school, hoping that we graduate good citizens and good people ready to go into college or the workforce.” MEETING THE NEEDS OF A GROWING COMMUNITY With growth comes opportunity, and TCSD is responding by constructing two new schools, set to welcome students in August of 2025. As part of the planning stages, a committee of curriculum experts and district administrators was formed, visiting schools across the state to create a vision for what the future of Tooele County School District buildings should look like.“Some of the things that we really liked were the collaborative environments of the other schools,” details Michael Garcia, Building Official and Construction Coordinator. He shares that the new buildings will offer gathering areas for students and educators, noting,“That will encourage cross pollination between classrooms, between departments, between the faculty and staff.” At the new high school, for example, classrooms have been designed with flexibility in mind, and teachers will have individual offices designed to support a model where educators bring their expertise to the students, instead of having a fixed classroom for varying class sizes. The building will include spaces that can accommodate smaller AP classes, and larger rooms for classes of 40 or more.A similar approach is taken at the junior high, where teachers have access to pods that will allow them to focus more on student interaction. “The schools definitely look a little bit different, and our community is excited for them,” he acknowledges.“It’s not the traditional four walls, kids up front. It’s meant to be flexible, adaptable, both for today and in the future.” Another notable innovation in these new buildings is the use of steel stud framing, which not only allows for easier modifications, but also paves the way for more efficient power and data distribution. “A lot of the buildings we had before were load bearing masonry, which is very hard to get back into, very hard to adapt, hard to add power,” Garcia expands. “This makes it very easy in 15/20 years, to come in and do a major remodel or move a wall. So, we were thinking of the problems we ran into in buildings today and trying to find ways to avoid the same problems for the people following us.” 273 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 04 TOOELE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
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