June 22, 2023 9:45p
(WGTD)---Racine Unified could soon have its first roof-top learning center.
As part of the 2020 facilities referendum, the district is planning to replace Red Apple Elementary at 914 St. Patrick St. with a K-through-8 building at 1012 Center St.
To make way, the former Franklin Elementary school building which in its final years housed Walden Middle and High School has already been demolished.
The new Red Apple will be designed to accommodate as many as 800 students with a continuation of its Science, Technology, Engineering, Allied Arts and Math theme.
District operations chief Peter Reynolds tells WGTD current plans call for a roof-top garden, and another learning space that’ll be tied to the school’s “STEAM” curriculum and the building’s mechanics. "When I talk about it being an outdoor learning space I mean how can we possibly incorporate solar components in the building; how can we have students learning about the mechanics of the building," Reynolds recently told WGTD.
Plans are still somewhat in flux, and will be affected by the outcome of negotiations between the school district and the city. The district would like to acquire the adjacent Franklin Park to enable Red Apple to have its own athletic fields.
Either way, the district is looking to have the new building ready to go for the 2025-2026 school year.
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