Key Project Attributes
- Grades: 9-12
- Capacity: 3,000
- Scope: Addition and Renovation
- Size: 126,900 square feet (addition), 368,900 square feet (renovation)
- Completion: 2024
Rewriting 50 Years of History: Untangling the Past into a Future of Career-Focused Possibilities and Student Innovation.
First opened in 1969, this historic high school underwent eight separate additions over the years, resulting in an unorganized, inefficient, and disjointed 435,200-square-foot campus with an outdated facade. It lacked the space and facilities required for evolving learning needs. The reimagined J.J. Pearce High School is a transformation of architectural ideas, light, collaboration, and real-world academic learning. Significant community involvement launched the school’s program into the future, redefining the existing campus to alleviate congestion and academic overcrowding while strengthening student engagement and connectivity.
The design transforms the building into a flexible, future-ready learning environment that prioritizes functionality, adaptability, and growth. It enhances daylight, expands outdoor learning opportunities, and reimagines the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program to cultivate custom skills, real-world experiences, and next-generation critical thinking—preparing students for college, careers, and beyond. The Pearce Pathway is a dynamic, two-story, central spine through the building, that provides transparency and displays the school’s most active and engaging classes including audio/visual and broadcast, construction trades, culinary arts, graphic design, health science and robotics. By relocating the main entries and central administration, the planning resolves vehicular congestion, increases pedestrian safety, and provides a welcoming and open pathway to a new socially active heart of the campus. In addition to reorienting the entries and streamlining circulation, the new student commons transforms an underutilized courtyard into a vibrant central hub, uniting what was once a socially divided dining experience for the entire student body.
A renovated 1,400-seat multi-functional theater supports theatre, dance, music, and school community performances. With bold interior graphics, a modernized theater, and a transformed exterior, this school stands as a welcoming staple in the community.
“Glenn|Partners delivered a phenomenal design solution while reimagining J.J. Pearce High School. The design team took a 50-year-old building with many issues and gave it new life, while also positively and creatively involving the community and school staff in the design process. ”
