Creating a Better Learning Environment
Leicester, Massachusetts, is a town of approximately 10,000 residents located just outside the city of Worcester. For many years, new housing starts were few and far between, and the population showed little growth. But the economic boom years of the late 90s saw open tracts of land begin to disappear around town as more and more home building took place. An annual cap has now been placed on new housing starts. As in any growing town, new families moving in are bringing more and more pressure to bear on the town's schools.
Like most cities and towns across America, aging schools are undergoing various levels of maintenance, renovation and updating. One such school is the Leicester Memorial School, where elementary grades three through five fill a 1954 brick building located on an open hilltop tract of land. Funding for the school's renovation has been spread over three or four years, so the work has progressed in phases.
"One of the most difficult challenges in maintaining and upgrading any aging building is the quality of the original construction," explains Carl Wicklund, School Department Facilities Manager. "Leicester Memorial School is one of those schools from the early 1950s that was built in an era when pride of workmanship and integrity of basic design was very high. Structurally, this is a very well-built school, but some features of the building are simply worn out. A primary focus has been the windows. It was unrealistic to maintain the old glazing and wood trim windows."
The site of the school posed its own challenges. Positioned on a hilltop, strong winds buffet the building while bright sunshine bakes the east- and west-facing classrooms. "The wind is so strong on the site that one day," recalls Wicklund, "the side windows of a mini-van that had been parked sideways to the wind were actually blow out." Wind load is considerable. Eliminating cold air infiltration and withstanding wind loads to hurricane force are two of the attributes of Kalwall's Window Replacement Systems. "This hilltop site is also somewhat out of the traffic flow, making weekend and night time vandalism a concern. The shatterproof, vandal-resistant features of Kalwall are a real plus."
"Some areas of the school had their windows replaced with traditional glass and aluminum framing, but the school environment is a demanding one. Some of the earlier replacement materials seem to be more of a residential-grade material than commercial. And even some so-called "commercial materials and systems" might be fine in an office building, but they don't stand up well to the demanding environment of a school. Fortunately, when it came time to begin the process of redoing the classrooms, we discovered the advantages of the Kalwall Window Replacement Technology."
The translucent panels allow a great deal of daylight into the classrooms, yet they are free of glare. "We no longer need Venetian blinds in the classrooms. During hot, sunny days in late spring, bright sunshine turned the old classrooms into greenhouses with too much uncontrolled heat-gain. In the fall and winter months, heating efficiency was very low due to the drafty windows.
"Teachers, students and town officials have all been impressed with the results of the new translucent windows. The school is gradually going through a significant upgrade that will yield many long years of service."
"The installation crews were a real pleasure to have here in the school," comments the School Principal. "School continued as usual and we conducted classes in adjacent classrooms during the construction process. The installation team did a great job and was very accommodating. It's not easy to have work crews in a school when classes are in progress and the children are around. The Kalwall team was great! Everybody is happy with the results. And now we're anxious to complete the second half of the classrooms, and do the library and computer lab as well."
"The comfort level of the classrooms has been greatly improved. The teachers and staff are all excited about the improvements being made," concluded Wicklund. "Meanwhile, the Town Advisory Board, Selectmen and the Town Administrator are very happy with our progress toward creating a better learning environment for the youth of Leicester."
For more information, contact:
Bruce Keller
Kalwall Corporation
1-800-258-9777