Residents envision 'high school of the future'

MOSES LAKE — Even as the Moses Lake School District prepares to build the technology-rich, globally connected “high school of the future,” residents still believe that teenagers will need and want to come to school to learn hands-on skills, to participate in extracurricular activities, and simply to be with other people their age.

“Some will just show up for the social aspects alone,” said Moses Lake High School teacher Jamie Wise. “They do that now and they have for years.”

Wise spoke Monday evening at a two-hour long “visioning session” hosted by the Moses Lake School District and Spokane-based NAC Architects, the firm hired by the district to design the new elementary school and high school as a result of the passage in February — by a bare, three-vote margin — of the $135 million school construction bond.

Participants gathered at The Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center were asked to consider what is unique about Moses Lake, why they live here, and what constitutes our values and beliefs.

They were also asked to consider what might change — and stay the same — in education decades in the future, given that any new high school will still be in use 40 and 50 years from now.

“What does the school of the future look like? Why does a student come to school in 2040?” asked NAC architect Melissa McFadgen.

While everyone agreed it was difficult to envision what the future would look like — who in 1980 could have anticipated a need for wifi in public spaces or smart phones in the pockets of nearly every student? — virtually everyone concluded that even in a high-tech school, social interactions and face-to-face relationships will still be important.

Participants also agreed that Moses Lake is an economically vibrant community that still feels like a small, “family friendly” town, values hard work, and has a pioneering spirit.

Architect Brent Harding responded by noting the “discovery of a deep sense of pride” in living and working and being in and from Moses Lake.

“We want to honor that,” Harding said of the school design process.

“We are heading into a two high school future, so the days of Moses Lake bleeding maroon and gold and coming to an end,” said Assistant Superintendent Josh Meek, who will take over as the district’s new superintendent in July.

“We need to honor and support the identities of both high schools,” Meek said.

Because, he added, there will come a day when that new high school — which he frequently referred to as West Valley High — will be the home team at Lions Field.

This change created a tremendous sense of unease, however, among a number of residents.

“I don’t like change at all, not at all,” said Jennifer Hill. “But I like that more kids are going to participate in more things.”

The district will host a second visioning session from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 19, at CBTech, and then again in mid-July. The architects expect to begin design work on the new high school in August, and if all goes according to plan, hope to begin construction work in 2019, with the new high school — as well as upgrades to the current high school — completed by May 2021.