Access for All

GREENVILLE, S.C. — After years of struggling with access and mobility issues, officials at Greenville County Schools opened J.L. Mann High School, a magnet school that puts an emphasis on science and mathematics and can accommodate all of the district’s special-needs students.

The $41 million, 248,000-square-foot school is designed for 1,500 students and includes provisions for the physically disabled in mainstream and life-skills classrooms, hallways, restrooms, elevators and common areas. In some areas, the provisions exceed Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

The new facility opened in time for the second 2007-08 semester, replacing its crowded predecessor that included 15 portable classrooms accessed by ramps.

“We have a lot of automatic doors and we put in lockers that are specially designed for the handicapped so that they don’t have to try and deal with opening a combination lock,” says Marvin Coker, project manager from McMillan Smith & Partners Architect PLLC. “We looked into sound and noise production and accessibility, as far as maneuvering and making sure all the turnaround areas were provided.”

The site lent itself to easy accessibility because it is on a flat 40-acre parcel that eliminated the need for stairs, ramps and lifts to navigate entry.

Most of the school is on one level, and the second floor of the building is accessed with hospital-sized elevators that allow ample room for multiple wheelchairs to maneuver easily. The elevators also have a backup power supply from an electrical generator in case of an emergency.

The school has 60 classrooms and biology, chemistry and physical science laboratories with barrier-free workstations. A life-skills lab for mentally disabled students is equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, dishwasher, and washer and dryer to teach students life skills. The campus also features a physical therapy room.

“We have a dedicated orthopedic and physical therapy room so when the district therapy folks come in, they have a place for them to go,” says Chris Chapman, vice principal. “It’s got one of the lift tables and all kinds of equipment in there.”

Setting the Stage

The design team worked closely with the school district, neighboring businesses and residents to ensure the new school met expectations and caused minimal disruption during construction.

McMillan Smith & Partners used community input to design the facade, which uses traditional features such as a monumental entry portico with columns, red brick and pilasters that instill a classic Southern style.

The floor plan includes grouped core spaces with a centrally located gymnasium, common area and auditorium to increase functionality and eliminate wasted space. The objective was to provide informal open spaces for interaction in the entry and commons areas that progress to smaller, more intimate spaces in classroom wings.

Specialized programs such as music, art and athletics were grouped for convenience and easy access. Gym classes that are structured to accommodate physically impaired students are also located in that area.

Students at the school were asked for input for furnishings and selected the tables that are used in the lunch area.

“We talked to the students and wanted to know what they wanted,” Chapman says.

Tables feature seating with open areas that can fit a wheelchair, allowing disabled students to intermingle with their peers during lunch hours, he says.

McMillan Smith & Partners recommended construction materials that provide the most life-cycle value and lowest maintenance requirement for the district’s investment without penalizing constructability.

“The big thing is trying to meet or anticipate the needs of all of our students while staying within a realistic budget,” Chapman says. “You can come up with all kinds of bells and whistles, but the reality is that you have to prioritize what’s most important.”

The main gym and auditorium are designed with masonry block on a steel structure. Radiating wings were constructed with exterior precast panels on structural steel, and the music and athletic wings incorporate interior precast panels that required installation prior to erecting the remaining outside sections of the wings.

Staging challenges during construction required collaboration and communication among project team members to meet an aggressive completion schedule. BE&K Building Group Inc., a general contractor based in Charlotte, N.C., divided the building symmetrically in half, each with its own construction crew.

Original plans called for mobilizing the precast erector three to four times to accommodate the difficult erection sequence but coordinated teamwork accomplished it all in one step. By project completion, the school cost $127 per square foot.

“I think having a school that, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful in the district that is also the most functional is certainly the most rewarding to me,” Chapman says. “It really is a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing facility, but that didn’t come at the expense of it being a (functional) school.”

A Singular Approach

Officials at J.L. Mann High School plan to offer single-gender classes in each core subject beginning next year that will use teaching methods specifically tailored to the learning needs of each gender, Chapman says.

“Boys and girls learn differently, so it makes sense that you might teach them differently,” he says. “We’re going to get our feet wet next year and once we have some data we can go from there.”

Studies have revealed benefits for single-sex classrooms, which can put an emphasis on subjects that each gender traditionally struggles with. However, some critics say single-sex classrooms promote stereotypes and inequality.

The district will slowly integrate single-gender teaching methods into most or all of its classes if the data from the school’s trial period proves it is an effective teaching method, Chapman says.

School officials also separated ninth grade students into an academy that utilizes specific classrooms and laboratories, but lunch, music and art spaces are shared with the entire student population.