A 100-year-old school has been transformed! The whole site modernization of Franklin Elementary STEAM Magnet school, part of San Diego Unified School District, was celebrated last week with a ribbon cutting ceremony. SRA attended this milestone event alongside our extended project team, many of Franklin’s families, students, staff, and leaders from the San Diego Unified School District and the City Council.
As a STEAM Magnet School weaving science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics into daily instruction, Franklin Elementary aspired to meet the demands of growing enrollment and modernize its campus for hands-on learning and exploration via Integrated 21st Century (i21) technologies. To achieve this, SRA designed an open-plan campus that saw the demolition of several buildings—including four portable classroom structures—as well as renovations to seven existing buildings to create dedicated areas for maker spaces, special needs students, a faculty kitchen and lounge, and storage for the school. This project also included the design and delivery of a new, two-story 25,500-square-foot classroom building that reorganized the hierarchy of the campus, focusing attention on the central courtyard and outdoor play areas. Classrooms within this new wing enjoy abundant natural light via large windows and open onto exterior patios which provide opportunities for outdoor learning.
An expanded playground surface and outdoor areas received new, natural forms for students to interact with—such as sustainably designed benches created from eucalyptus trees, an outdoor learning space with engaging textures, and a new outdoor garden fed by water collected by the school and students in rain barrels. The project also includes an expanded auditorium and improved parking and drop-off areas.
Blending history with innovation, this renovation preserves the campus’ legacy while creating new, inspiring spaces for future generations.
Learn more about Franklin Elementary’s completion and ribbon-cutting ceremony here: