Photo: The new middle school spans nearly 75,000 square feet across a 90-acre site
By Lindsey Coulter
OCONTO FALLS, Wis. — The Oconto Falls community officially cut the ribbon on the new Oconto Falls Middle School on Aug. 4. The event was followed by an open house that allowed community members and students to get a first look at the new learning spaces that have been under construction since October 2023. The approximately $35 million project was funded by a $37 million referendum in 2022, after years of effort and debate, including a failed referendum in April 2022. The successful 2023 funding effort also supported the development of secure entrances and roof repairs for all district schools.
Sporting the Oconto Falls’ signature orange and black hues, the new middle school, which spans nearly 75,000 square feet across a 90-acre site, accommodates grade six throught eight, with future expansion plans that include a fifth-grade wing. The building offers a variety of general classrooms as well as special education spaces and dedicated areas for art, athletics, health, music and science as well as a technology and agricultural science center, media center and administrative offices.
Photo Credit (all): Nexus Solutions
The project officially began in 2020 when the Oconto Falls School District hired Nexus Solutions, a comprehensive K-12 facility planning firm, to conduct a facility assessment. That effort focused on the community’s more than century-old Washington Middle School as district leaders debated repair or replacement.
Following a process that included master planning, community engagement and referendum planning, the district selected Somerville Architects and Engineers to provide architectural design, interior design and environmental graphic design services.
The new facility provides significantly more academic space as well as a full competition-sized gymnasium with two cross courts and a multipurpose room designed for wrestling, dance and cheer. These facilities aim to support a wide range of extracurricular activities, promoting physical fitness and team spirit among students. Other facility highlights include secure entrances; a modern, flexible, light-filled library media center with collaboration rooms; flexible classrooms with sliding glass fronts to expand collaboration into commons spaces; classroom-level pods with locker bays and flexible collaboration zones.
The project was designed to meet a variety of goals, including creating inclusive, flexible and collaborative learning environments that support individualized learning, while providing real-life opportunities and experiences for students. The design also aimed to incorporate natural light to support learning and reduce energy consumption. District leaders further prioritized a sustainable, cost-effective design that would minimize long-term maintenance and operational expenses while still creating spaces that support education, community and district programming.
The school will greet its first students later this month with the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year.