HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Walk down the halls of Hempfield Area High School and it’s clear, it’s time for an upgrade.
“Not only from an operational standpoint but from a teaching and learning standpoint,” said Dr. Mark Holtzman who’s the Hempfield Area School Superintendent.
That’s why this over $100 million project is getting underway after a decade in the making. The high school will see an addition, plus a gut from the floor to ceiling.
“It’s a great opportunity to not just spend money on a project but to create a space we are building for the next 20, 30, 40 years not what we are building for tomorrow,” Holtzman said.
Innovation and collaboration are the ideas behind these renderings of what this new space will be.
“The one picture that had the garage doors, those are spaces and classroom spaces and projects can be moved in and out not only within the building but things that go outside as well to allow for bigger projects and collaboration to happen in those common areas,” Holtzman said.
The idea is to encourage students to want to come to school and see a future, not just be stuck behind the four walls of a classroom.
The project is slated to take about 30 months once shovels hit the ground, and students will continue to learn through the construction.
“Currently we have Harrold School which is across the street which is a former middle school we are using for freshmen,” Holtzman said.
It’s all to allow for extra space in the high school to do the renovations without as much disruption.
“I think we are prepared and looking for ways to partner and gain information from experts to create spaces that are in the best interest of the future of Hempfield Area,” Holtzman said.
Final budgets and plans are still being worked out, but the first piece of the project will start this summer with all the inner workings of the school like the HVAC being replaced.
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