- Deerfield Public Schools District 109
- Planning For Our Future
Our Future and Define 109
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Master Facility Planning Underway
DPS 109 has begun the master facility planning process, which will help us determine the short and long-term needs to make our schools the best educational and working environment possible for students and staff. As teaching and learning strategies change and evolve, so must our school buildings. We have been working with ARCON Associates, an educational architecture firm, to assess our current facilities and survey peer educational facilities as a part of this process. We will continue to be financially responsible, intentional, and transparent as we move forward.
Here are our goals when planning for our future:
- Create a long-range roadmap for the DPS 109 facilities prioritized by and aligned with the District's educational mission and the communities' goals for learning, and responding to the highest priorities from the physical and educational assessments.
- Provide an open opportunity for widespread community and stakeholder engagement.
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Master Facility Plan Phases
Below are the phases of the Master Facility Plan thus far. Please keep in mind as we go through this process that all dates and phases are subject to change. We want to continue being responsible and thoughtful in the planning process. We will continue to update our stakeholders as we move forward.
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Mid-August to Early October 2022
The Discovery Phase began Mid-August of 2022. In this stage, ARCON toured the buildings and met with community members and staff in order to gain a deeper understanding of how each space in each building is being utilized and identify challenges and opportunities.
Throughout this phase ARCON:
- Consulted with building principals to describe what each space in their building was being utilized for.
- Toured each school building with faculty, students, and leadership teams to garner feedback.
- Invested time in observing daily teaching practices and building movement patterns and how they are influenced by current building layouts.
- Toured facilities of peer school districts that have recently undergone building development for inspiration.
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The Facility Vision phase began in January 2023. Throughout this phase, ARCON and the leadership team reviewed findings from the Discovery phase. An overview highlighting areas for opportunity was presented to the Board of Education.
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Tentative Date of February 2023
Continuing to facilitate a review of initial planning diagrams and refine space based on the two previous phases. Steering Committee and Administration Leadership Group will meet. The focus at this stage will be on learning environments, budget, and schedule options. Opportunities for additional feedback will be considered.
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This phase will tentatively begin in Spring 2023. During these final months of the school year, both the Steering Committee and the Administration Leadership Group will continue to discuss the Master Facility Plan options based on the discovery in previous phases.
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As stated above, this is a dynamic process subject to change. Our commitment to you is to keep you updated through this webpage, 109 News, and other means necessary so that you know the latest developments.