2019-Folsom Magazine by the Greater Folsom Partnership

Building the
School of
MANGINI ELEMENTARY
RENDERING
the Future
By Bill Romanelli
THE FCUSD TODAY
Total Schools: 34
21 Elementary Schools
4 Middle Schools
3 High Schools
1 Charter School
1 Adult Ed School and
Independent High School
(Same Site)
2 Continuation High
Schools
1 Community Day School
Total students: 20,605
FCUSD PROJEC-
TIONS FOR 2030
Total Schools: 42
26 Elementary Schools
5-6 Middle Schools
4 High Schools
1 Charter School
1 Adult Ed School and
Independent High School
(Same Site)
2 Continuation High
Schools
1 Community Day School
Support Facility- New
Maintenance
Building/Yard
Total students: 27,172
As Folsom grows, the Folsom Cordova Unified
School District is growing right along with it.
With visions for five new elementary schools,
one new middle school and one new high school in the
Folsom area south of 50 over the next several years,
the District is doing more than just counting heads. It’s
reimagining schools from the ground up, with an eye
toward equipping students that aren’t even born yet
with the skills they’ll need to be successful members
of tomorrow’s workforce.
“Schools are evolving with the rest of our world, and
looking like what the world represents as students
finish their education,” says FCUSD Superintendent
Dr. Sarah Koligian. “Schools are going to mirror the
work environment more than ever before.”
A case in point is the planned Mangini Ranch
Elementary School, slated to open in 2020. With an
energy-efficient single two-story building design,
the operative words governing the design are
“flexibility” and “collaboration.” For starters, think
of schools with multiple, spread out rooms with
magnetic white boards, computer labs inside every
classroom, flexible furniture, and foldable walls that
can be opened or closed as needed to create larger
and smaller work spaces.
Additionally, the school is integrating Wi-Fi and other
systems that recognize the value of mobile technology
to help foster learning. Couple that with a focus on
outdoor learning environments that can be utilized
for experiments and outdoor activities that bring the
textbook learning to life, and the school of tomorrow is
in stark contrast to the classroom of 20 years ago.
“Think of the Google environment and the way that
kind of campus is set up to facilitate collaboration—
that’s the idea behind the design for Mangini Ranch
Elementary,” Koligian says. “Rather than have
resources spread out among several different places,
where travel to and from actually takes time away
from learning, the school of tomorrow ensures
learning can happen anywhere.”
Beyond the design, the curriculum itself is geared
around college and career readiness, with an emphasis
on the word “and.” Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math (STEM) and Science, Technology,
Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) programs will
be embedded in all levels of education, but with the
growing interest in trade programs FCUSD is also
creating opportunities for career pathways right out of
high school, including internships and even certificate
programs in some areas.
“We’d love to incorporate more options for students
to consider the trades for a possible career choice,”
Koligian says, “but whether they do or not, the
flexibility that’s getting built in to these schools will help
build up the creativity and critical thinking skills they
need for any vocation.”
2019-2021 // VISITFOLSOM.COM 33