The new Lower Moreland High School at 545 Red Lion Road in Huntingdon Valley will host several open houses next month.
The open house dates are as follows:
- Saturday, February 3 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm
- Wednesday, February 7 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm
- Saturday, February 10 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm
A student-created website which documents the project and includes information about construction site updates, videos, interviews, and more is now live. For more on the student-led documentarian team, you can also visit their Youtube channel.
The project’s origins date back to 2018 when two of the school district’s three pre-existing buildings were approaching maximum capacity. Recent LMHS graduate Sophia Zalipsky wrote an extensive description of the process and progress, which is published on the new school’s website. An excerpt:
On September 2nd 2018, the Lower Moreland Township School District welcomed Dr. Scott Davidheiser as the new Superintendent of Lower Moreland Schools. Early in his tenure, Dr. Davidheiser realized that it was important to begin discussions with the school board, administrators, faculty, township officials, and students about the impact of growing enrollment on the capacity of each of the District’s school buildings. The pressing concern was that two of the three school buildings were rapidly approaching 100% capacity.
In response to these concerning developments, Dr. Davidheiser, in conjunction with the school board and administrators, set out to arrange for a thorough and impartial district-wide feasibility study. The goal of the feasibility study as Dr. Davidheiser explained, was to take a serious look at the District’s “strengths and weakness” through both, rational and objective lenses. The study was also expected to assess future enrollment projections, essential and evolving program requirements, as well as, the baseline conditions and structures of the District’s existing facilities. In late 2018, the Board hired KCBA Architects and the PFM Company to execute the feasibility study and to prepare projected financial impact statements for each of the proposed solutions on the District’s budget.
In an effort to provide the District with a rational and objective 10-year enrollment projection, KCBA Architects analyzed a variety of raw and trend data to include: Live Birth Data, Historical Enrollment, Charter School Enrollment, Non-Public School Enrollment, Community Demographics and Housing Information. The results of the study concluded that: (1) Enrollment had increased over the past decade; (2) The District was strongly projected to welcome an additional 350 students over the next decade; (3) Future residential expansion and new housing developments would only continue to drive enrollment upwards; and, (4) All of the District’s grade levels and buildings would be impacted by increased student enrollment.
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