Cooper Academy recently expanded its elementary school facility with a new 34,000-square-foot addition. This expansion doubled the school’s capacity from 450 to 900 students. The project emphasizes community engagement, prioritizing input from students, parents, and staff to create a safe and inspiring environment that addresses the unique needs of the school community.
- Client: Johnston County Public Schools
- Location: Clayton, NC
- Size: 34,000 SF
- Delivery Method: CMAR
Community Engagement + Collaboration
Nestled in the heart of Clayton, NC, the Cooper Academy community embodies a spirit of compassion and resilience as it navigates essential facility needs for delivering a high-quality education for students in grades K-5. Our recent partnership with JCPS underscores our commitment to community engagement through innovative and collaborative strategies that prioritize stakeholder input.
Immersive Understanding of Needs
To understand the unique needs of the Cooper Academy community, Boomerang Design devoted significant time to immersing ourselves in the school environment. We conducted thorough assessments of the existing facilities and engaged in meaningful conversations with students, parents, staff, and administrators. This hands-on approach allowed us to gather invaluable insights directly from those most affected by the school’s design, fostering inclusivity and emphasizing the importance of community voices in shaping the project.
Visioning and Feedback
With the support of the JCPS School Advisory Council, Parent-Teacher Association and School Improvement Team, we used “visioning boards” that enabled participants of all ages to share ideas and help shape their future environment. This process emphasized transparency and inclusivity, making community feedback a key driver of design decisions.
Focus on Connectivity and Safety
Early visioning sessions revealed a strong desire among students and teachers for enhanced connectivity, accessibility, and stronger security measures. Users particularly cited a desire for developing an enclosed walkway linking the two buildings, which our team was able to incorporate into the design. In addition to a new two-story classroom structure, our team thoughtfully reconfigured the existing itinerant offices and guidance centers to centralize oversight between the new and existing buildings, reinforcing our unwavering commitment to student safety and overall well-being.
A Reflective + Inspiring Educational Environment
Through this collaborative effort, we remained dedicated to ensuring that the new addition to Cooper Academy not only met the community’s unique needs but also reflects the aspirations and priorities of its stakeholders, creating an educational environment that is functional, safe, and inspiring.
