Thanks to the work of our Board, staff, community volunteers and land planning experts, we were able to develop an innovative master plan for the 272-acre site that takes into account both our immediate needs and anticipated growth through the year 2016.

The entrance to the site is a divided four-lane tree-lined boulevard. The boulevard leads to a traffic circle, which connects the inner and outer loops around the site. Separation of traffic was both a safety and practical issue; the outer loop serves buses, staff, and students, while the inner loop is dedicated to visitors and parent drop-off. Brick pavers designate visitor parking, drop-off areas and crosswalks.

At the heart of our new campus is "The Green." The elementary, middle and high school all face this open space, while the Early Childhood Center (ECC) stands slightly to one side, closer to the adjacent suburban neighborhood. "We wanted the ECC to be removed from the formality of the Green, which frees it to be more residential in nature; important for young children transitioning from home to school."

The Green is a common space for all the schools, with potential uses ranging from athletics and marching band practice to community fairs. A raised patio at one end of the green offers possibilities for outdoor graduations and other ceremonies.

Community use of athletic fields and buildings is planned for, and is an important component of the design. A stand-alone aquatics center (Phase Two) will provide space for high school swim teams, water safety classes, swim meets and more. Gates will allow portions of the site to be closed for security while allowing for flexibility in off-hours use of facilities.

Walking trails weave through the natural beauty of the site. A proposed environmental education center (Phase Two), located at the edge of the wetlands, provides classroom and lab space for teaching students about the importance of estuaries. The wind-turbine-powered center has the potential to be a field trip destination for schools throughout the region, and to be a model of sustainable architectural design.

By preparing a master plan, it is easier to build in sustainable site design features. Shared parking areas minimize the impervious coverage of the site and reduce runoff. Storm water quality and quantity control can be managed on a comprehensive scale. An important sustainable design approach for the master plan is rainwater capture from the roof drainage system. Large cisterns store rainwater for future use for irrigation of the athletic fields, or for toilet flushing in the buildings, giving the dual benefit of reducing storm water runoff and reducing water use.

Like the roots it draws from, the master plan ultimately strives to make the campus a place, rather than a collection of buildings. "To our knowledge, planning at this scale is unprecedented in public school planning."