Enlightened education

The first thing you notice is the natural light. It floods down halls from huge exterior windows. It streams down from skylights. It washes into classrooms from both exterior and interior portals.

As the finishing touches are put on Eastern View High School in preparation for its August opening it is, with apologies to Hemingway, “a clean, well-lighted place.”
And the light is intentional.

Christopher Plummer, portraying a famous architect named Simon Wyler, was spot on in “The Lake House” when he told his son, “The light in Barcelona is quite different from the light in Tokyo. And the light in Tokyo is different from that in Prague. A truly great structure, one that is meant to stand the tests of time, never disregards its environment. A serious architect takes that into account. He knows that if he wants presence, he must consult with nature. He must be captivated by the light. Always the light. Always.”

EVHS both captures the light and captivates with it.

“There is a lot of natural light,” said Eric Conti, assistant superintendent for Culpeper County Public Schools as he led a visitor on a tour last week. “Studies have found that there is a direct correlation between sunlight and student achievement. In addition to all the exterior windows and the skylights, every classroom has a large window next to the door.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant and being able to see in and see out also allows more collaboration.”

This high school for the 21st century is designed to be functional 60-80 years from now and “green” is a dominant theme in its construction.

“There is a reflecting roof and the entire building has reusable energy and is heated and cooled geothermally with separate classroom controls, unlike CCHS which has entire areas controlled by one thermostat,” Conti explained. “Inside there is impact resistant drywall instead of cinderblock and brown stained concrete floors which don’t require waxing so it cuts down on the use of chemicals.”

Outside there are separate parking areas for faculty and students and separate drop-off areas for buses and parents, thus cutting congestion and eliminating a lot of the “standing in line” time with waiting vehicles burning precious fuel and emitting pollutants. In addition, all the taller structures on campus are placed facing U.S. 29 to block some of the noise and provide a better visual environment. Standing in front of the school, a visitor looks out over the green fields of the Culpeper Community Complex.

Eastern View is designed as a “collaborative learning environment” and is more a community resource than a traditional “school.”

“The new ‘R’s’ of 21st century teaching are ‘rigor, relevance and relationship’,” said Conti, whose first day on the job four years ago began with a planning meeting for teachers to express what they’d like to see in a new high school. “Teachers will no longer ‘own’ a classroom where they will park for 25 years. This school is designed for the new learning environment with wireless technology throughout and ceiling-mounted LCD projection TV systems in each classroom. The school is also designed for expansion. For example, each of the locker bays is two classrooms in size and there are other rooms throughout the school that could be converted to classrooms easily if needed.”

Academic houses
The academic section of the school is structured around four pods, or “houses,” one each for the freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Each house is designed for 375 students and is self-contained with single-level lockers (for better sightlines and teacher control), all the required classes for that grade and a common area for projects, discussions and collaboration between teachers and students on joint academic projects.

“People don’t learn in isolation,” said Conti. “Teachers were directly involved in the design of the classrooms. They are teachers of students, not of subjects.”

EVHS principal Roger Mello pointed out that at CCHS students often trek between upstairs and downstairs classes in the main building, classes in the Annex and classes at Culpeper Middle School.

“Here, the longest walk to a classroom is about 40 seconds from the locker bay,” he said. “When students tour the building, how just that one fact will change their school lives is something they quickly pick up on.”

Mello’s enthusiasm for what EVHS will be able to offer shows in his broad smile and palpable enthusiasm.

“We want each house to have its own identity,” he said. “The learning community will function best with positive relationships between students, teachers and subjects.

“Too often teachers are locked into a routine and there’s professional isolation…they are prisoners of time. A book called ‘The Medici Effect’ makes the case that the Renaissance happened because a bunch of fascinating people came together in the same place. We have fascinating teachers and students and we want them to learn from each other.”

Conti said that unlike CCHS, where the career and technical areas are in a different section than the academic section, at EVHS they are in the same area.

“We want kids coming out of career and technical classes and bumping into kids coming out of AP classes,” Conti said. “In fact, we want those to be some of the same kids. We need smart plumbers, too.”

In between the houses on each floor there is an office area with a “discipline room” and space for representatives from family preservation, suicide counseling, the department of health and social services to be available on campus as needed by students and parents.

Teaching with space
There is also a large “professional space” where teachers will have a desk, file cabinet, computer and telephone with access to each other and the ability to work with students during office hours.

“This space is really exciting for new teachers needing mentors,” Mello said. “They won’t have a mentor just an hour a week, but will be in the midst of veteran teachers on a regular basis.”

In the “community” section of the school there is a media center, cafeteria, early learning center, gymnasium, “black box” theatre with seating for about 300, a 940-seat main auditorium with an orchestra pit, drama room, weight rooms, orchestra, choral and music rooms and a broadcast studio.

“And make sure the community knows that there is a wrestling room here,” said Conti. The lack of a dedicated wrestling room at CCHS has long been a sore point.

“I want this space taken advantage of by the whole community,” said Mello. “And it will be possible for our students and those from other schools to access ‘regional programs’ that are offered, say, at Rappahannock, Orange or Madison high schools, but not here, and they will have access to some of our programs. For example, Madison has an engineering program, Orange has aviation and we have JROTC. If you say you want kids to collaborate to solve problems, but don’t offer the space, what you do really doesn’t support that message.”

Learning community
Conti said there would be fitness classes available and there might be times when students would be taking classes with police officers or firefighters.

“There will be a mixture of the real world as well as the theoretical in the learning environment here,” he said. “Still, based on the cost per square foot, this is one of the least expensive high schools being constructed. But we hope this also creates community pressure to get CCHS renovated. It needs it and that was part of the plan.”

Added Conti, “This is not just about opening a new high school, it’s about rethinking high school. When we say we’re going to expand programs, it doesn’t mean we’re just going to hire another teacher. For example, there will be a branch of Germanna Community College’s nursing program here, as well as other college-level classes. When some students get their high school diploma they will already be well on their way to a college degree.”

Both Conti and Mello are excited about the possibilities for collaboration both from within and without at EVHS.

“I have all the tools we need to build something great,” Mello said. “In education, we’re often limited by space or time. Kids are great at reading messages adults send. Next year EVHS students are going to be able to look at this space and see that our community values education. Here, teachers will have all of the pieces they need to create the best high school in the state.”

Ray Finefrock can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 111 or  

About EVHS
Cost: $54 million
EVHS is 260,000 square feet compared to 210,000 for CCHS and 85,000 for the new Yowell Elementary School.
Designed in four “houses” with space for 550 juniors and seniors upstairs and 550 freshmen and sophomores downstairs. A split entry way to ease congestion of students on arrival.
Separate hallways for the houses with a “main street” connecting the academic side with the community side and a separate stairway from the first to the second floor for teachers.
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