Media center upgrades in the works for three Hall County schools

Media centers at Hall County's public schools need to move toward the future, and that's what will happen this summer in a pilot program set for three schools - White Sulphur Elementary School, North Hall Middle School and West Hall High School.

 

Matt Cox, the school system's Director of Facilities, and Aaron Turpin, the Director of Technology for the school district, told school board members at a Monday night meeting the schools were chosen because they have the greatest need for upgrades. 

 

The idea is to move toward a "learning commons" space where students can work individually and in classroom settings; faculty would also be able to hold meetings more effectively in the upgraded media centers. 

 

Very few of the structures in the pilot media centers would be stationary, allowing the rooms to be reconfigured easily depending on need. Most furniture will be on wheels. 

 

"[It's] flexible space where students can produce," Turpin said. "[The space] can change very easily to whatever their need is."  

 

Turpin also noted that technology in the classroom and in current media centers is often incompatible, and the new media space would eliminate that problem. 

 

Cox said they asked media specialists to look through their inventory to see what books might be removed from the facilities, since so much learning now takes place electronically. 

 

Cox estimated the cost to rework all three spaces will cost somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000. The money would come from SPLOST IV collections. 

 

Superintendent Will Schofield emphasized that the projects are part of a pilot program and that not all schools would be getting upgrades to their media centers in the near future.

 

"Again, these are prototypes...but as the finances become available and as we need new media space, we want to do it world class and I think that's what you have before you," Schofield said of the three plans presented to board members.

 

The renovations on the three media centers would take place over the summer if the school board approves the expenditures at its April 11 work session.