Southwest Local District Master Plan

Client: Southwest Local Schools

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

An Educational Visioning process identified the following guiding values for the district: (1) The learning environment should consist of fluid and dynamic spaces that encourage large and small collaborations among students, staff and community; (2) The learning environment should foster student ownership of learning through tangible, inquiry based, and real-world problem solving; (3) The learning environment should encourage facilitator (teacher) development and collaboration in support of individualized, differentiated and student-centered learning.
A Community Advisory Team (CAT) of approximately 70 diverse members (students, staff, community members, parents, district administration) developed various facility options along with cost estimates.
Community input was collected through polling and community-wide town hall meetings to determine support for options, specific components and cost.
Structured around the community’s vision, the resulting master plan includes spaces that support varied learning styles, stimulate hands-on project opportunities and align student interests with core content.

The Resulting Program: The final master plan resulted in a $95M program that encompassed three new elementary schools, one new junior high school, and renovation improvements to the high school.

Master Planning|Visioning|Stakeholder Engagement

Seeking to improve community support after working with a different master planning consultant and failing to pass its bond issue, Southwest Local Schools sought out SHP to provide master planning and educational visioning services. Through educational visioning and community engagement, SHP worked to develop a plan that both the district and community were enthusiastic about. The resulting program includes three new elementary schools and a new junior high school.

"I firmly believe that the reason our levy passed was because of the community engagement work that SHP helped us to accomplish."

– Corinne Hayes, Assistant Superintendent, Southwest Local Schools

Recommended for You

Fairborn High School Read More Is the Safe Choice the Right Choice?

Recently, I attended a conference at the University of Cincinnati on Surfaces. The conference was put together to honor Jay Chatterjee the former dean of the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP) and the orchestrator of UC’s Campus Master Plan and building renaissance (not to mention one of my own planning professors). Many of the signature architects responsible for various new and renovated buildings attended the conference including Peter Eisenman and Michael Graves. Eisenman was responsible for redesign and expansion of the DAAP building where the conference was held.

The Boys & Girls Club of West Chester/Liberty celebrates its anniversary in January 2022. So, it seems important to recognize how the work of what started as a small crew of passionate volunteers has grown into a premier organization within and for the children of the Lakota Local School District.