What Rachel Wallace likes most about Pine-Richland's nearly finished upper elementary school is that it doesn't look like a school.
"It looks like a neighborhood of houses. It looks different from other schools," said Rachel, a fifth grader at Richland Elementary School across Bakerstown Road from the new school.
Rachel was among about two dozen people on a recent tour of the $33 million school, which will house 1,100 students. It is scheduled to open at the start of the next school year.
The school will house fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders who now attend any of the district's three elementary schools.
The school will be one of the most modern educational facilities in Allegheny County, said Robert Cooper, its designated principal.
"The building will be spectacular. It is built around programs," he said.
Although the school is relatively large, it is built as a series of small sections. Its classrooms, for example, are divided into clusters of four. Each group of four will share a common area.
The school will include an "exploratorium," a 550-student-capacity auditorium that is designed to have collapsible seating. That assembly space can be used for art shows and science fairs.
Designed by Eckles Architects of New Castle, the building's largely "green" design features skylights that let in as much natural light as possible.
"This will be one of the most innovative schools in the county," said Jennifer Kopach, who will teach fifth grade there.
Growth in the district, which uses three modular trailers as classrooms, is about 5 percent a year. Pine and Richland are the fastest growing area in Allegheny County, according to U.S. Census data.
"This is a modern up-to-date 21st century school," said Pine-Richland's superintendent, James Manley.
Last week, county Chief Executive Dan Onorato toured the partially-finished school. He said he was impressed that the district was able to fund the school.
"You did this at a time when I was freezing property taxes," Onorato told others on the tour.
Pennsylvania is debating how to fund schools, Onorato said. "All districts are not like this one."
The building will be enclosed by the end of next month, allowing construction workers to continue working through the winter.
Larger text
Smaller text
Print this article
E-mail this article
