Operating with a combined middle and high school serving students in grades 7 through 12 since the mid 1990s, the Kenilworth Board of Education had long sought to establish a dedicated middle school for its students in grades 6 through 8. Together with their decades-long architectural partner SSP, a referendum plan was developed to expand the existing building, dedicate a separate middle school wing, and in turn free up space at their elementary school to expand their pre-kindergarten offerings. Together, KBOE and SSP navigated the impact of a pandemic and volatile construction costs to finalize a referendum plan that was approved by the voters.

SSP’s plan provided for a new wing on the only available piece of land, a narrow strip between the existing building and a practice soccer field. The wing housed improved science labs for the high school on the ground floor, and a new main office, and art, music, and STEM rooms for the middle school on the upper floor. 

A complex entry sequence was carefully designed, resulting in the full second floor of the facility being dedicated to the middle school students. At the rear of the school, a new student entrance was constructed, which also provided for a long-missing link between the school and its former auxiliary gym, now the middle school’s main gym (which was previously only accessible from the high school gym).

Construction bids for the project, which was designed to both blend in with the existing school’s architectural vocabulary, as well as provide a visual entry point for the middle school, came in below budget, and allowed the district to take advantage of several alternate bids which would only have been possible if contractor pricing was favorable.

Though the addition was the centerpiece of the bond referendum, other projects were undertaken as well, including a full replacement of the High School’s HVAC system, the installation of synthetic turf at the main stadium field, and interior renovations to the auditoriums at both the high school and the elementary school.

Overall, the improvements funded through this referendum have allowed the district to realize their longstanding educational goal of finally having a separate middle school.