Proposed Quaker Valley High School classroom being constructed at current school

Reconstruction is underway at Quaker Valley High School to turn one of its social studies classrooms into a room of the future.

Crews from Clark Contractors of Bedford began demolishing teacher Jennifer Matthews’ classroom earlier this month.

It is expected to be rebuilt in time for the Aug. 21 start of the 2024-25 school year.

School district officials said the project’s goal is to show students and staff what a classroom at the proposed new high school would look like.

Classrooms would have grey-shaded marmoleum tile flooring. North walls would have windows while the south walls would have storage areas. Accent colors include green-grey mist, a shade of green and a shade of tan.

The cost of the reconstruction is about $43,400.

The proposed 167,000-square-foot school is on 150 acres of land off Camp Meeting Road. The district property straddles Leet Township, Edgeworth and Leetsdale. However, the school itself will be in the township.

Charlie Gauthier, district director of facilities and administrative services, said plans are still on schedule for a 2027-28 school year grand opening.

“I think it’s exciting to be able to see what a classroom will look like and have a test run of the new desks, the new chairs,” Gauthier said. “Just to see how the teacher likes this room setup before we commit to a long-term plan of these materials. We want to see how they will be used and how they will hold up.

“What we envision with this classroom is a test with the students and staff and get feedback from teacher and students who use the space.”

Clark Contractors was selected as part of a state cooperative purchasing agreement called Keystone Purchasing Network.

Superintendent Tammy Andreyko said a lot of thought went into having a test classroom.

“Through our research and attendance at the EDspaces conference in the fall of 2023 and listening to other districts who shared their experiences in school construction, we decided to experiment with a prototype classroom,” Andreyko said.

“This approach allows us to garner invaluable opinions from our teachers, helping us refine our designs and ensure that the final classroom environment meets the needs of both educators and students. By testing different configurations and features in this prototype space, we can make informed decisions that will enhance the overall learning experience.”

The classroom is about 850 square feet and could accommodate about 25 students.

“Ms. Matthews’ classroom is comparable in size to the proposed high school classrooms and offers us a unique opportunity,” high school principal Deborah Riccobelli said. “Her teaching schedule and content area provide the flexibility to accommodate other teachers and courses in this room at various times. This arrangement allows our design team to gather feedback from a diverse group of teachers and students on aspects such as colors, finishes, lighting, furniture and technology integration”

Next steps

The next steps for the proposed school project include approval recommendations from the Leet and Leetsdale planning commissions.

Planning commissions are recommending bodies. Formal plan approvals would come from borough council and township commissioners.

Gauthier said the district continues to address the township engineer’s comments of the school plans and hopes to have them resolved within the next few weeks.

Approvals from both communities could come in the next couple of months.

The school district is also is constant communications with federal, state and Allegheny County officials about infrastructure upgrades to Camp Meeting Road at Beaver Street.

Plans include widening the road and providing sidewalks and bicycle paths to the lower entrance of the school.

The district secured $850,000 in congressional Community Project Funding earlier this month, part of the $15.5 million spending bill passed by the US House of Representatives.

There are no matching funds required, and a majority of this work is in Leetsdale. Designs for that area have not been finalized.

Funds will be administered through PennDOT once the district is ready for that portion of the project.

A virtual tour of the proposed high school and its potential looks is available on the district’s YouTube channel. The video is of a presentation at the April 16 school board meeting narrated by the superintendent. The classroom section is around the 2:20 minute mark.