How new addition was 'made for the future of Glenbard West'

To understand the role teachers played in shaping the design of a classroom addition at Glenbard West High School, consider the flooring in a new physics lab.

The tiles measure one meter long, a handy reference for students calculating the velocity of an object in meters per second.

"Everything was designed with a purpose," said Linda Oberg, Glenbard West's assistant principal of operations.

That attention to detail plays out across the 28,000-square-foot addition - the first to the original building since 1963. The project began a year ago, and when students return to classes Monday, they'll find stark differences across campus too.

"This is an addition that was made for kids and made for the future of Glenbard West," principal Peter Monaghan said.

The addition and renovation of former science classrooms cost about $10.5 million. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing work for the addition totaled another $4.5 million.

Before the project, the science department was the only one at West with offices on different floors and spread across the campus. It wasn't just an inconvenient layout for faculty and their students at the Glen Ellyn school.

"Getting all the science teachers together really hits two birds with one stone," department Chairman Sean Byrne said. "It allows for much more collaboration between the different curricula, but even more importantly, gives the students one place to go look to find their teachers."

That place now brings biology, chemistry and physics teachers all into offices on the fourth floor. Low partitions above their desks, again, foster collaboration and allow teachers to look into a neighboring resource room for students working on assignments.

A few steps away from the department's new address is the entrance into the glass atrium that leads into a "green roof" on the addition. On one side of the atrium is an outdoor space, about the size of a classroom, and on the other, a bigger area that can accommodate multiple classes.

The roof is covered in native plantings and a herb garden that students will maintain with the help of a rainwater barrel system. And then there are the unobstructed views of Lake Ellyn.

Back inside, four chemistry and four physics classrooms on the addition's second and third floors have movable furniture so students can work in group labs.

"It's incredible. These are absolutely state-of-the-art labs," Byrne said in one where chemistry students will use fume hoods and deionized water faucets at each station.

"The amount of space to be able to move around safely and do authentic chemistry in a classroom like this is just ridiculously exciting for me."

The bottom floor of the addition features a photography lab and a dark room where students can process their images. Via a new elevator, teens in wheelchairs will be able to access photo, music, band, art and ceramics classes on the school's 100 level.

"Now there are no classes that we would ever say to a child you can't take this class because we can't get you there," Oberg said. "It's a huge plus for us."

During the summer in the main building, six former science labs were converted into eight classrooms for business and world language students, among others.

Another prime change is an air-conditioning system that cools off the entire school for the first time. Building a cooling plant for West cost roughly $1.3 million.

Installing the system was a major logistical undertaking, Oberg said, because classrooms were emptied over the summer, ceilings were exposed and ductwork was put into place.

Last week, crews were busy unpacking boxes and putting the finishing touches on the addition that Monaghan said will help alleviate congestion in some areas of the 1920s-era, original building.

"We're looking forward to seeing what a difference and what an impact it will make on a student at Glenbard West and their learning," he said.

If you go

What: Glenbard West High School classroom addition open house, with tours and student demonstrations

When: 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8

Where: 670 Crescent Blvd, Glen Ellyn

Info: Glenbardwesths.org