The Arcadia Unified School District’s new $13.5 million two-story administration office building was unveiled to the public and City officials following the first School Board meeting in the facility on April 22.
The building not only has a new name — the Arcadia Education Center (or AEC as opposed to the former DO – District Office) — it also has a new location adjacent to Bonita Park on 3rd Street at Bonita Avenue just south of the railroad tracks that run across Huntington Drive at Second Avenue.
This site, once the location of a now-defunct Bonita Park Elementary School which closed in 1982, has been home to the District’s Rancho Learning Center for special education. That learning center, which also has classrooms for students who need some extra attention for disciplinary reasons, now makes up the first floor with eight classrooms of this nearly 37,000 square-foot building.
The former administration building on Campus Drive on the west end of the high school campus at El Monte Avenue next to the new Performing Arts Center will be torn down later this year and replaced with much-needed parking spaces. When all construction is done at the high school — a new swimming pool is being built this summer, among other projects — even more parking spaces will be re-opened as the portable classrooms are removed.
AUSD Superintendent Dr. Joel Shawn and Christina Aragon, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services, each praised the community support and collaboration with the City of Arcadia for this latest component of the overall ongoing District-wide $218 million upgrade of every school and facility.
The AEC building that literally comes to a point in the back on the east end took about 14 months to complete and has been home since April to the School District Superintendent and about 50 administrative staff and support services, including offices for the Arcadia Education Foundation, almost all on the second floor.
The conference room for the twice-monthly Board of Education meetings and a Staff Development Room are on the first floor adjacent to an elegant atrium-style lobby that is open to the ceiling of the second story with a staircase to the second floor.
Jim Leahy, Director of Construction Projects, led attendees on a tour following the ceremonial School Board meeting, noting that the AEC includes an on-site generator that will allow the facility to be used as an Emergency Operations Center for the District and connect to City emergency communications.
He also said the new building features many energy efficient systems and environmentally-friendly features such as
Energy Star Lighting
daylight occupancy sensors
advanced Energy Management Systems (EMS) for heating and cooling units
setback timers on thermostats
low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints
recycled building materials
low-drip irrigation systems
drought-tolerant plants and landscape
low-volume sinks and restrooms
parking lot pavers to contain water runoff
Among the specific services offered on the first level of the new AEC building:
Special Education
Room 108 Occupational Therapy: 3 Occupational Therapist and a classroom for special education students.
Room 107 Observation Room: Work room and an observation room for Occupational Therapy and for the Talking Learning Center for special education students.
Room 106 Talking Learning Center: Special Education Preschool run by speech pathologists. For ages 3-5.
Room 105 Adaptive P.E.: Offices for Adaptive P.E. staff and storage for equipment.
Room 102 Autistic Therapy: Offices for two School Psychologists and an Autism Supervisor. Classroom for Discrete Trial Training for autistic students.
Room 103 Opportunity Program: Special Education uses classroom in afternoon within the Opportunity Program.
Rancho Learning Center -Opportunity Program-
Room 103: First half of day used for regular program, second half used for Special Ed.
-Home School/Independent Study-
Room 101: Classroom for Home School and Independent Study Program.