LF_083117

4 | August 31, 2017 | The lake forest leader NEWS
LakeForestLeader.com
Deer Path Middle School completes renovations to Haskins 2.0
Alyssa Groh, Editor
On the first day of
school, students at Deer
Path Middle School waited
anxiously to check out the
newly renovated Hasinks
2.0, formerly known as
the Haskins Center, or
the library. Students and
staff came together to celebrate
the completion of
the $2 million renovation
of Haskins 2.0 during the
ribbon cutting ceremony
on the first day of school
on Aug. 23.
When Haskins 2.0
opened its doors, students
fled in with wide eyes,
taking in all of the bright
colors and unique designs
of the 11,000-square-foot
reimagined learning center.
Haskins 2.0 was renovated
to help achieve District
67’s new vision and
because it has not been
updated for 20 years.
A few years ago, the
Board of Education, with a
lot of help from the community,
defined a new vision
for the district, said
Mike Borkowski, president
of the Board.
“The vision is markedly
different than a lot of other
school districts and different
from where we have
been,” Borkowski said.
With the new vision, one
of the things the District is
now focusing on is the environment
of its physical
facilities.
“[With a focus on environment]
we reimagined
learning spaces,”
Borkowski said. “That
means we take what
we consider traditional
learning spaces and reimagine
them to enhance
the learning experience
for 21st century learning
for every student.”
During the past year,
students and staff worked
with the designers to help
reimagine the learning
space. They pitched their
ideas for the space and the
designer took it all into
consideration when renovating
the space.
The first thing students
and staff see when walking
into Haskins 2.0 is the
gallery stairs, which came
from the idea of the Spanish
steps in Rome where
people go to collaborate
with one another. Underneath
the stairs is a large
opening, which is called
the nook, where students
can sit down comfortably
and work with one another
on projects.
As you walk farther into
Haskins 2.0, there is the
campfire, which is a circular
area with chairs where
students can work in small
groups. For students looking
to read a book in a
quite area, they can go to
the reading tree house,
which is a place for one to
two people.
Throughout Haskins
2.0 there are also three
glass studios which can be
thought of as classrooms.
There is also a Spark
Lab and Stem Lab where
students can go to make
things and be creative using
graphic design skills,
3-D printers and more.
“Haskins 2.0 is so much
more than a traditional library,
it is a reimagined
learning space,” Borkowski
said. “We have turned
Haskins 2.0 in to this collaborative
space where every
single student can go
and thrive.”
Renee DeVore, the principal
at Deer Path Middle
School, is impressed
with how the renovations
turned out and is eager for
students and staff to be
Grace Lutrey (left to right), Olivia Adams, Olivia Moore and Emma Lutrey visit with one another in the reading tree
house in the newly renovated Haskins 2.0 on Aug. 23. PHOTOS BY ALYSSA GROH/22nd Century Media
The gallery stairs is a gathering place for students to collaborate in Haskins 2.0.
back and school and start
using it.
“I don’t think I could
have imagined the space
to look the way it has,”
Devore said. “I am really
excited to see how the staff
and students use the space.
There is just so much freedom
to get out into a space
that is filled with a different
type of energy than being
in a classroom. I think
that opens up so much in
the realm of creativity, for
both teachers and students.
I think when you are in a
space like this, you can’t
help but want to be creative.”
The renovations could
not have been completed
without the help of the
Spirt of 67 Foundation,
which donated $250,000
for the project.
“The purpose of the
foundation is to partner
with our schools to award
grants that have a positive
and lasting impact on
every student,” said Martha
Zeeman, who was the
president of the Spirit of 67
from 2013-15. “The foundation
previously worked
with the District to update
the library on the 5/6 side
of the middle school. The
Haskins Center was last
updated 20 years ago. We
were thrilled to have the
opportunity to partner with
the District to update the
library on the 7/8 side.”
As students spent
the morning exploring
Haskins 2.0, they were excited
about the new space
and eager to start using it.
As Borkowski was walking
into Haskins 2.0 for the
ribbon cutting ceremony,
he walked next to a student
who could not contain his
excitement.
“It is so great for students
to be excited to go into a
learning space and want to
be there,” Borkowski said.