Valerius Elementary School

The new Valerius Elementary is located in a suburban community immersed in nature. Nearby city trails, parks, and the locally renowned demonstration garden provided inspiration for the school design, inviting visitors to engage all senses. The planning team worked closely with key stakeholders to establish criteria for the design, which outlined the creation of welcoming, collaborative, and flexible learning environments strategically organized to foster smooth collaboration. Nestled between a garden, a woodland, and a pond, the new Valerius Elementary celebrates vistas of nature. Everywhere you look, vibrant colors and playful shapes stimulate the imagination. An arbor above the main entrance invites students in to discover a sense of wonder and play from the natural world within modern learning environments. Upon entering, you take a walk through the park in this communal gathering space. A two-toned terrazzo floor is reminiscent of a grassy knoll where the hardwood planks of the learning stair and the tree shaped canopy invite you to find a shady spot to relax with friends. The rainbow railing and acoustic baffles above celebrate the community that invests so much in their students. Classroom neighborhoods each showcase a different biome of the school’s surrounding site. The brook, grassland, and woodland neighborhoods are flexible with sliding doors and movable walls that open to tech-filled extensions of the classroom. This shared discovery zone is steeped with whimsical colors and patterns, like bubbles from a babbling brook and a wavy nook to sit and read. These vibrant textures and colors encourage imagination and enthusiasm for learning. Students thrive in this building that supports their connection to the natural world. The 118,500 square foot elementary school will be a 4-section (4 classrooms per grade level) PK – 5th grade facility with a capacity of 640 students. The school and site are sized for growth and designed to support an additional classroom per grade level to provide the district with flexibility in the future. Pre-K classrooms are strategically placed on the first floor near the parent drop-off zone and their dedicated play area. Grades K-5 are organized in two grade level neighborhoods to promote a strong sense of community and the opportunity of cross-grade level collaboration within the elementary school. The location of the commons, gymnasium, and media center allows for community use outside of student hours. The facility is solar-ready, with the roof designed to have photovoltaic panels added in the future to increase energy efficiency. Play areas consist of hard surface, soft surface with playground equipment, and a grass play field. These items are organized together on the site for ease of access and supervision.