What Will the New Greene Central Look Like?

This week started the first real design discussions for the planning of the new Greene Central High School. On Wednesday, our Leadership Team and a couple of students met along with board members, commissioners, and other community officials to talk about the vision that the architects will use to create the site plan and the initial design. I had no idea what to expect from this process and when we got into it, I was completely hooked. The whole thing didn't begin with pictures or layouts as you would expect. It began with a brainstorming session. We threw out words and phrases to capture what was important to us. Safe was the overwhelming winner. Everyone wanted a modern facility that honored our past while being prepared for the future. They wanted spaces for advanced learning and spaces that were welcoming to the community. They wanted a secure facility that didn't look or feel like a prison. They wanted outdoor community spaces that doubled as learning spaces. With all of that information, the job now is to capture what those needs look like. But really they are capturing what they feel like. It's easy to get caught up in needs and wants, but the work this week reminded me that places like schools also have to capture how they make you feel. Our current school has done that for many generations in the past. You'd be surprised how often I hear references about it from parents and graduates that haven't been here in a while. I'll admit that I've been nervous that we can't meet everyone's desires and stay within a budget for building a new school. I don't want anyone to feel left out or forgotten. So while not everyone will get everything they want, my hope is that we still capture that feeling that is uniquely ours. So what will the new Greene Central look like, I don't know yet. But this week taught me that it's more important to ask how it will make us feel.