Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School
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The newly named Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School relieves severe overcrowding in a previously underserved urban neighborhood. The campus consists of four learning academies—or “learning communities”—serving 2,025 students with classrooms, science labs, and dedicated administrative space. The three inaugural academies include: The Fine & Performing Arts Academy, Global Issues Academy, and The Synergy Quantum Academy.
Shared facilities include: performing arts classrooms, a library, multi-purpose room, two gymnasiums, a variety of playfields and courts, foodservice and lunch shelter, administrative support services, playfields, and subterranean parking under basketball courts.
In response to the desire to make the school a place of safety and belonging, the site is organized based on a small village or town. At the westernmost portion of the site—connecting to the main plaza by a winding covered walkway—are the Small Learning Communities. These are treated like the ‘residential neighborhoods’ of the village. They are designed as three-story structures, each adjacent to a dedicated open space. A variety of open spaces with landscaping and seating provide students with safe outdoor spaces to study and socialize.
