Glenbrook South sign system to become clearer
How wonderful it is, Glenbrook South High School Principal Dr. Lauren Fagel said, to help a student find their class on their first day back in school.
By August it will be much easier for students and, critically, for first responders to get around the place.
During the Glenbrook High Schools District 225 board meeting April 12, associate superintendent Dr. R.J. Gravel enthusiastically explained a signage makeover at Glenbrook South that'll clarify things inside and out.
"Trying to find how to navigate through the building can be very difficult," he said. "Now imagine that there's truly an emergency and these folks have the tools in their toolbox, they have maps, but even when following a map the numbering of the building is not necessarily logical."
He was talking about things like room numbers out of sequence, some second-floor rooms with lower-numbered series than on the first floor, lack of ADA-compliant Braille lettering, main entrances labeled with letters that had no meaning to visitors.
A stakeholder group, from first responders to students, devised a deceptively simple yet comprehensive system. The school board's April 12 meeting recommended a bid of $234,851 out of district safety and security funds to design and install new signs.
Nearly 90% of the cost will go to improved interior wayfinding. A less extensive project is planned for Glenbrook North in 2022 at what Gravel conservatively estimated at between $150,000-$200,000. He estimated the Glenbrook South system to run between $300,000-$350,000.
The new color-coded system is designed for consistency yet flexibility to adapt to possible class changes. Five first-floor "fire zones," down from seven, will have a four-digit numbering system - 1100, 1200 and so forth - with second-floor zones retaining that pattern for "vertical stacking," board materials said.
Exterior door signs will correspond to the color coding indoors, and rather than cryptic labels such as entrance "OO," the three main entrances will be renamed on the order of "Main Entrance/South Parking Lot."
Interior directional signs at key spots and more are part of the plan.
It's planned to enhance flow in and around the school and look good doing it.
"While it's fun and nice, it's primarily a security concern, and that's the main driver," said District 225 Board President Bruce Doughty.
The majority of the interior signs are expected to be completed by the end of July. First responders, school security and administrators will acclimate themselves to the new system before the 2021-22 school year starts, Fagel said.
The board also saluted outgoing members Karen Stang Hanley and Dr. Sonia Kim.
A founding member of the Glenbrook High School Foundation, Hanley was appointed to the board in 2012 and elected to two full 4-year terms.
Kim, whose academic resume boasts MIT and Harvard, was appointed in 2016 and served a full term from 2017-21. She did not gain reelection in the April 6 election.
"You've both served with amazing distinction and I will miss you both very much," said five-term board member and former 10-year board president Skip Shein. "We have many lists of accomplishments, but for me it's the personal connection to two people that I didn't know and what you brought to us at the board table. I am personally grateful for having the opportunity to work with both of you."