by Mike Knaak
editor@thenewsleaders.com
The new 320,000-square-foot Tech High School welcomed students on Sept. 3.
The $104.5 million school to serve 1,600 students replaces the old building, parts of which were more than 100 years old.
Rather than long halls of classrooms, the school features three Learning Neighborhoods with windows offering views of the surrounding woods and large interior windows overlooking work spaces for individual students and small groups.
The school is designed to make learning visible and the spaces flexible for changing uses, Principal Charlie Eisenreich said.
Outside the building, there are four multipurpose practice fields, three softball fields, two baseball fields and eight tennis courts. Multipurpose Tiger Stadium features synthetic turk and a nine-lane track.
Tech is southeast of the intersection of 33rd Street South and CR 74. The main entrance is at 4200 33rd St. S.
There’s a grand opening celebration at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, at Tiger Stadium. Prior to the event, at 4:15 p.m., Tech boys and girls cross country athletes will run with a torch and flags from the former high school to the new school. After a ceremony, self-guided tours will begin at 6:45 p.m.
Principal Charlie Eisenreich describes the commons in the new Tech High School. Two-story high windows fill the east facing wall.
A stairway leads to the second floor of one of Tech’s three learning neighborhoods.
Interior and exterior walls feature lots of windows. Exterior windows provide views of the woods that surround Tech.
