New Trier High School Says Building Needs Overhaul

cbs2chicago.com

May 07, 2008

The board at New Trier High School is reviewing what to do with the aging school building.

The school has asked from input from students, teachers and the community about ways to modernize the Winnetka campus building, 385 Winnetka Ave., where sophomores, juniors and seniors attend school. Freshmen attend a separate campus in Northfield.

Right now, the classrooms are smaller than average, and students cannot fit laptops on the tiny desks.

The building was built in stages. The oldest parts are the student cafeteria, which dates from 1912, and the Gates Gymnasium, which was constructed in 1928. The cafeteria is out of date, "with kitchens and serving areas that are inadequate for today's needs," the school said on its Web site.

There are also 71 classrooms that date from 1934 or 1957, which the school says "were designed for different learning and teaching than is practiced today."

There are also areas of the building that are not accessible by those with disabilities, and only one elevator that 3,500 people use daily, the school's Web site said.


New Trier has been examining an overhaul of its facilities since fall of last year, and has engaged the architectural firm Perkins + Will to help guide the process.

An overhaul of the building will be discussed by at monthly meetings by the school's Workshop Committee, which is composed of more than 60 students, staff members and community leaders, the school said.

The 45-minute meetings and tours are scheduled for 10:15 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22; Tuesday, May 20; and Wednesday, June 11.

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