Laraway School, built in the early 1950s, needed costly repairs. Its corridors were dark and crowded and its HVAC systems drained operational budgets, plus trucks from surrounding industrial facilities caused major traffic problems.
Overwhelmingly successful referendum supports replacement preK-8 school with 98% of students from low-income families
Laraway School, built in the 1950s, needed costly repairs: corridors were dark and crowded and HVAC systems drained operations budgets, plus trucks from surrounding facilities caused traffic problems. Additionally, nearly 98% of its students are low-income.
Legat’s master plan and pre-referendum assistance led to an 80% “yes” vote on the ballot. The resulting 119,000-square-foot preK-8 school, inspired by community input, doubles the size of its predecessor and offers 460 students a spacious, light-filled setting that supports STEM applications and learning beyond the classroom. The new site also has far less traffic than the previous site.
The Laraway School design team included Northwestern University researchers, who prepared pre- and post-occupancy surveys. Both teachers and students attested that bullying had decreased dramatically in the new school, thanks to the neighborhood design.
Project Awards
John H. Shaw Award, Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) – Midwest Great Lakes Region
I heard ‘That’s good enough’ a thousand times, but ‘good enough’ was not in our vocabulary. We had one opportunity to do what’s best for the kids, and we did that.
Gary Knight, Board President, Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C
During planning, we asked that it not look like a warehouse. We have a masonry exterior, unlike the preformed concrete that many of the buildings surrounding us have. It’s a jewel of the community.
Saul Brass, Board Vice President, Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C
