MDCS Master Plan
Overview
The Mountain Discovery Master Plan was created to ensure a successful future for the school. The plan is built upon the foundation of the MDCS mission to provide its students with engaging and inspiring experiential education. It also builds on the school's history of success as a small, closely knit learning community able to meet the needs of all its students. Although our infrastructure is yet to reach the end of its economic life, it limits our ability to fully create the vision so carefully laid out in the MDCS instruction plan. Realization of the Master Plan is crucial to take this institution to the next level and will enable us to become a flagship learning community.
Mountain Discovery opened its doors in the fall of 2002 in a 6000 square foot renovated retail space adjacent to the local grocery store. Seven teachers and one administrator served 65 students, grades K-6. The following year saw the addition of seven students, seventh grade, two teachers and another lead administrative position. In the fall of 2004, MDCS opened its doors in its current facility made up of twelve modular buildings situated on eleven wooded acres at the edge of Bryson City. In addition, MDCS grew by an additional grade level, 50 students and four teachers. By the start of its third year, MDCS had reached the growth objective of serving grades K-8 in dedicated classrooms. Steady programming additions in subsequent years have lead to consistent growth in enrollment. Currently, MDCS is fully enrolled with 162 students in grades K-8.
Even in the face of all this success, there is much room for improvement in the MDCS facility. Major inadequacies in the current facility include insufficient library space, no lunchroom, no gymnasium, and no space large enough to assemble our entire student body. Students have to use the exterior deck which connects the classrooms for all class changes, which is at best unpleasant during rainy North Carolina winters. Although they are adequate, the current art and music classrooms present logistical challenges for our teachers who wish to provide multi-disciplinary instruction. Examples of these challenges are constant set up and take down for band classes, and an inadequate kiln room that prohibits art instruction in the adjacent classroom during firings. Full realization of the Master Plan will solve all of the existing inadequacies and allow MDCS to provide an unprecedented educational experience for its students.
All future projects at MDCS will be designed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) criteria. New buildings will take advantage of the site’s southern exposure through passive solar heat collection and possibly solar hot water. Environmental day-lighting, storm water collection, earth bermed insulation and energy efficient materials and design are further steps MDCS will take to lead by example in sustainable building practices.
The new MDCS will be built in four phases that span 10-15 years depending on the success of the ongoing Capital Campaign and other potential revenue sources.
Click the image of each phase for more information.
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Phase I |
Phase II |
Phase III |
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Phase I- Fine Arts Building
Phase I of the Master Plan will create great change and opportunity. With an anticipated completion date of August, 2011, Phase I adds the much needed features of a gym, a lunchroom, and an indoor assembly room to our existing facility. It also will provide improved art and music classrooms as well as an educational theatrical facility. New educational opportunities created by completion of the Fine Arts building include:
- Weatherproof and "gym-centric" PE classes such as:
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- Multi-grade lunch periods which will lead to:
- Socialization across grade levels
- Increased collaboration and planning time for classroom teachers
- Improved art classroom
- Improved music room
- A whole-school assembly area
- Hosting of community events
- School theatrical productions
Theatrical production is a great vehicle for experiential instruction of math and physical science. Simple geometry, advanced math, the physics of light, electrical theory, leverage, technical drawing and many more subjects can be taught through the creative and inspiring vehicle of theatrical production. The completion of Phase I will increase our ability to offer standard education programming as well as truly innovative instructional opportunities.
The theatrical elements of the building will include:
- A raised stage with a proscenium opening
- Removable audience seating
- A limited onstage fly space
- Catwalk accessed front-of-house lighting positions
- Theatrical dimmers
- Computer controlled dimmer board
- Sound system
- Sound and light control room
Phases II&III- Main Academic Building
A picture really is worth a thousand words....
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Phase II, pictured on the left, will start the process of getting all of our classrooms under one roof. We hope to begin construction by June, 2014 on the West wing and central portion of the permanent building. This structure will ultimately house the middle school, art, and music classrooms as well as the library, media center, EC classroom and the school offices. The goal will be to have the wing ready to occupy in the fall of the following year. Phase III, pictured on the right, will complete the construction of the Academic Building. This portion of the building will house the elementary classrooms (K-5). Completion of the Academic Building will do nothing less than ensure the permanence of Mountain Discovery.
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Phase IV- Covered Walkway and Parking Lot
Phase IV will be the "icing on the cake." A covered walkway will be built to ensure safe and dry drop-off, dismissal, and class changes. Removal of the remaining modular classrooms will increase the area of the playground by approximately 30 percent and double our parking lot capacity to nearly 35 spaces.