LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Loudoun County, one of the fastest growing in the country, has built several dozen new buildings since 2000 to accommodate the explosion of new families and the expansion of its full-day kindergarten program.
Brambleton Middle School opens this week to welcome students from the booming Dulles South area.
The design is a first for the school system. The new prototype building includes a glass-enclosed crosswalk that connects half of the building to the other. The connector crosswalk includes benches where students can sit and journal or read.
The school features a glass entry plaza which creates a welcoming entrance while also allowing for added security and oversight. The lobby and pre-function spaces provide a place for student commons during the school day and public use space after hours. The classroom wings are organized by grade level to allow for age-appropriate educational and emotional growth through the students’ time in the school.
“You can tell the building was designed with learning in mind,” Principal Renee Dawson said. “They thought about how students would use every single space.”
The school was designed by MFTA Architecture. Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc. is the general contractor.
Middle school in Loudoun County includes students from 6th through 8th grades — students just out of elementary school and those headed for high school in a year.
Source: WTOP Newsroom. Read original story here.