In April of this year, Northwest Local School District (NWLSD) began the process of preparing the south end of Ann Weigel Elementary for demolition. Conversations around the demolition began many years ago when the 2014 Master Facilities Plan was being established. The decision that came out of the Plan set the course of the Elementary School’s closing in the Spring of 2018. At that time, the Ohio Department of Education assessed the building and determined that the south end of the school, which was a part of the original building structure, did not meet the Educational Viability Standard and did not offer a sufficient educational learning environment suitable for a K-5 Elementary school. ODE also determined that the south end of the building did not qualify for State funded renovations, which resulted in NWLSD slating that end of the building for future demolition.
After the closing of Ann Weigel in 2018, the building was repurposed to house staff offices and alternative programming until the time of demolition. In mid-June of this year, the demolition was initiated. The programs and staff offices that were housed in that portion of the building have been relocated throughout various buildings within NWLSD.
As the 2022-2023 school year approaches, the District will address other affairs that were outlined in the 2014 Master Facilities Plan. In August of 2021, NWLSD began meeting with its Community Advisory and Educational Visioning Teams to discuss updating the District’s 2014 Master Facilities Plan.
The teams examined the district’s building needs, discussed 21st Century educational needs and the types of learning spaces needed to prepare students for the future and drafted 14 different school facility options. In October, the teams narrowed their 14 options down to five facility options that captured the ideas of both groups. The District then surveyed the community-at-large in order to determine which plans our community, families and staff would support.
The District received a total of 3,475 responses. Click here to view the survey results and recommendation. Based on the survey responses, 66% of respondents and 95% of the Community Advisory Team chose “Option C” which includes combining three middle schools into two middle schools and keeping two high schools, which could be done in multiple phases over the years.
Under this option, NWLSD would be able to provide districtwide building equity across ALL preK-8th grade buildings, provide students with a clean feeder system, minimize student building transitions, expand academic offerings, establish operational efficiency, and offer schools that foster strong relationships. (As NWLSD approaches the implementation of the current phase of the Master Facility Plan, the District will assess options for facility designs and locations.)
This plan would involve the following action items:
- Renovating Houston Early Learning Center
- Renovating Monfort Heights Elementary School
- Building a new Colerain Elementary School
- Building a new Colerain Middle School
- Building a new Pleasant Run Middle School
Future Phase:
- Building a new Colerain High School with a Career Tech Center (Phase 3)
- Building a new Northwest High School with a Career Tech Center (Phase 3)
NWLSD plans to revisit conversations in the near future regarding the community’s preference for building one combined high school or two separate schools.
Click the link below to view photos: