by Sheila Murphy, FGMA
A New Home for Queen Bee School District Operations
Founded in 1860, Queen Bee School District 16 continuously grows and changes to meet the challenges of each generation. Today, the district serves almost 1,800 students in an early childhood center, two elementary schools and a middle school in Glendale Heights, one of Chicago’s western suburbs.
"This has always been a community that welcomes people from around the world," According to Dr. Joe Williams, Queen Bee SD 16 Superintendent. "At present, our students speak 53 different languages. Over the years, many immigrant and cultural groups have come to town. Many have stayed and are part of the rich, robust, and supportive cultural environment that we're lucky to serve."
FGMA is proud to partner with Queen Bee in an ambitious, multi-year project to modernize and expand its facilities, including the recently opened District Operations Center (DOC).
The DOC is Queen Bee’s first-ever, purpose-built center for critical governance, administrative and maintenance functions. Previously, the Board of Education rotated its meetings from place to place across the district, while administrative and facilities personnel were scattered in various locations.
Explore the 10-year master plan for Queen Bee School District
A Center for Supporting Schools
Located next to Glenside Middle School, the DOC is a modern L-shaped building that conveys civic pride and melds with the surrounding neighborhood. The landscaping, including a surface stormwater detention system, features native plants and the DOC’s roof was designed to support the weight of a future PV array which will help reduce the carbon footprint and energy cost of the facility.
One DOC wing houses the District Administration Center with a dedicated Board of Education meeting room, an office suite for the Queen Bee Superintendent, offices and workspace for the departments of Teaching and Learning, Student Services and Finance as well as collaboration, kitchen and break areas for all personnel.
The adjacent wing houses the District Maintenance Center with a garage for district vehicles and equipment, high-bay storage room, woodworking/repair studio and changing/locker rooms for custodial and maintenance staff.
"This building is a clear investment in our professionalism," noted Dr. Williams. "It's a bar-raising experience, and it solidifies the culture we've been working so hard to establish -- that this community has the right to outstanding educational services, as well as an expectation that we conduct ourselves at the highest professional level every day."
Enduring Community Commitment
The DOC’s secure vestibule features a wall-sized vintage photograph (circa 1930s) that shows people of all ages gathered in front of the original Queen Bee one-room schoolhouse, which operated until 1958. For Dr. Williams, this image is far more than a nostalgic snapshot of the past. It conveys a sense of place, history and pride.
"This is our story," said Dr. Williams. "This photograph represents the central function of public schools, which is bringing the community together. Public schools function as a collective investment in our future by educating the youth of today to be the adults of tomorrow, to lead our community forward."
Transparency Infuses Design
Transparency is a core value of Queen Bee SD 16. Accordingly, the DOC’s exterior features a wealth of windows, which convey its openness to the community and maximize natural light for building occupants.
Inside the DOC, the Board meeting room is centrally located with interior windows that admit natural light and allow anyone to observe from the lobby area outside. The semi-circular shape of the room is both an aesthetic and strategic design decision. In Dr. Williams’s words:
"The boardroom is a gathering place where people feel welcome and can participate," said Dr. Williams. "We all agreed that this should be a place that brings people together, and nothing brings people together like the sense of being in a circle. Everyone is equidistant from the decisions being made."
Fostering Workplace Culture
District personnel work in offices and open plan workspaces. FGMA designers addressed staff concerns about privacy by creating a proportional floor plan that maximizes the open space volume while protecting the more defined space of individual workstations. Designers selected furniture with a lower profile height to support a feeling of privacy for people working closely to one another.
Queen Bee staff are encouraged to use dedicated collaboration spaces and a kitchen/break area. Comfortable seating, tables and a custom-designed light fixture that subtly evokes the district’s initials “Q” and “B” lends a touch of wit while nurturing workplace pride. An outdoor patio is well used by all staff when the weather allows.
"Putting the kitchen area next to the collaboration space brings people from different job areas together – sometimes to collaborate, mostly to eat. It’s fun to see people who work in different jobs – finance, curriculum, special ed – get together, chit-chat, and catch up."
A Central Hub for Maintaining Schools
The new District Maintenance Center is the central hub for supporting the approximately 211,000 square feet that Queen Bee’s schools occupy.
"We needed a central place where we could safely support all the buildings in our district," said Dr. Williams. "Prior to this, our custodial and maintenance teams never had a place to call their home…. This is a clear statement to our team and the greater community that we value these functions."
Here, district vehicles are housed in a temperature-controlled environment with an adjacent salt shed to ensure that snow removal functions smoothly. Maintenance supplies and equipment are safeguarded in a high-bay storage area. A dedicated woodworking and repair shop is used by custodial staff. Offices and meeting room spaces are provided with an additional break room for all personnel.
Game Changing for the Future
Prior to constructing the DOC, Dr. Williams oversaw major renovations and expansions of Queen Bee’s Americana and Glen Hill Elementary Schools as well as a modest renovation of and addition to of Glenside Middle School – which will be the focus of a comprehensive makeover next.
The design and construction of the DOC is a significant milestone in Queen Bee’s 164+ year history. For the first time, the district has centralized the roles and responsibilities for ensuring the best delivery of education in a central location. The community can see where its collective investment in the future is managed. In Dr. Williams’s words, "We want the community to know that the work we’re doing with their money is adding value to this community that will endure long past our time."
