What stands out is the importance of relationships and a team that thoroughly understands the unique problems in the south-eastern corner of the state where high unemployment, low median income, remote geographical location, and environmental conditions are key.
HMC Architects and the ICOE have been working together for more than a decade to improve Imperial County’s educational environment. ICOE created a new position to oversee facility needs for the growing County. David Schoneman, Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Special Services, is charged with making sure ICOE takes advantage of all related funding opportunities.
The benefits related to this vision are far-reaching. Facilities not only meet a need for space but are also the vehicle to improve student performance and create new economic opportunities for the area.
ICOE opened two Community School facilities in 2002. The sister schools, Valley Community School in El Centro, California, and Del Rio Community School in Brawley, California, were the first of their kind built in the State. ICOE worked with HMC Architects to develop an efficient plan that satisfied the unique educational requirements and needs of special needs children and young adults.
The use of durable, sustainable materials in the harsh desert environment has provided the ICOE with two facilities that require minimal exterior maintenance. The community benefited from the use of a multiple-prime delivery method that allowed maximum involvement from local contractors. The local economy was bolstered by construction dollars from the State School Facilites Program.
Through a partnership with the City of Brawley, ICOE recently received a joint-use funding grant to construct a teacher training facility and library at the Del Rio Community School campus. This facility will benefit the community in many ways and will provide space for future programs in this area of the city.
A recently obtained planning grant will allow us to begin the design of a new facility for the Imperial Valley Center for Exceptional Children. For more than thirty years, this program has been housed in rented facilities that no longer meet the needs of a growing population nor support the improved teaching methodologies available for children with severe disabilities. This project also presents a unique challenge because the County Office plans to seek donations from philanthropists to supplement the available funding from the State. We have hopes that this will result in the development of a facility that far exceeds what could traditionally be constructed using state funds.
The second century for the Imperial County Office of Education and its partners is off to a busy start.