School district will study adding doors at ‘open-school’ Estancia High
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District board approved an agreement Tuesday with an Irvine design firm to evaluate the possibility of installing doors to many of Estancia High School’s classrooms.
The $4,995 feasibility study by Studio + Architecture will examine the effect of removing the gates that are currently attached to classroom storefronts and replacing them with doors and walls with windows. It will also analyze the impact of how the new enclosures would affect the school’s systems, such as the fire sprinklers, heating and cooling ventilation.
When the school opened in 1966, it was designed with an “open school” concept where classrooms had large openings that feed into Estancia’s hallways and common areas, instead of enclosing them with doors.
Years later, gates were added to the classroom openings in order to lock the rooms when they weren’t being used and to prevent thefts, according to district spokeswoman Annette Franco.
“By being able to study a more enclosed storefront, it’ll be easier to lock and keep things secure and people can get in and out in emergency situations,” Franco said Monday.
According to Tim Marsh, the district’s administrative director of facilities and support services, the “open school” concept was a popular design for campuses in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, trustee Vicki Snell recalled when Estancia went into lockdown in February 2013 when a student’s father entered the school with a BB gun.
“They’re just open gates, you can stick your hand through them,” Snell said. “That was one time where I saw how much this is needed. I’m happy we’re finally doing it and the feasibility study is the first step.”
Current teachers say the lack of room enclosures has caused distractions during class.
“We can hear other teachers if they decide to play a movie for class or if students are having a final exam review and playing a game for that,” said Hayato Yuuki, an Estancia Medical Academy instructor.
Many teachers put up file cabinets or book shelves along their room’s opening to limit those distractions and if some instructors are alone in their classrooms during the school day, they also have to be cautious about locking their gates if they leave to go to the bathroom, Yuuki said.
Krista Schweers, a sports medicine teacher at Estancia, said noise and activity in the hallway divert her students’ attention when they’re in their own classroom.
“It’s extremely distracting to have students walking around the halls, communicating to my students while they are trying to learn as well as clearly hear all the other teachers that share the hallway,” Schweers said. “It’s also impossible for us to secure our room in the case of an on campus intruder.”
While Estancia’s PTSA President Tehnaz Rutledge said she doesn’t mind Estancia’s current look, she agrees that doors could help add a sense of security in the school.
“When I first walked into Estancia [in 2011] when my first child went there I loved the look of the school,” Rutledge said. “It feels open and beautiful. But in the end, if doors would provide security for the children then it would be a good idea.”
Some but not all of the school’s classrooms have doors, Marsh said.
There are 25 classrooms in the Academic Wing and seven classrooms in the Math & Science Wing of Estancia that lack doors.
The district will execute a contract with Studio + Architecture shortly, then work on the study will begin, according to Franco. The study will take a few months to complete.
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Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
