The new Sunset Ridge School, a feeder school for the nationally acclaimed New Trier High School, was designed with an understanding of the way in which children’s developmental needs evolve as they grow from self-awareness to global awareness within their communities and beyond.

Wight & Company designed the school as a “community.” Grades are organized into three distinct “neighborhoods,” each based on the developmental needs of children at different grade levels. Students transition from the District’s PK-3rd grade building into the new Sunset Ridge School’s 4th-5th grade main floor neighborhood. As students’ progress, they transition upstairs to a middle school environment, with separate 6th grade and 7th-8th grade neighborhoods.
Noticeable neighborhood differences include:

•Cubbies inside 4th-5th grade homerooms, and lockers outside classrooms for 6th and 7th-8th graders
•Exterior windows which are smaller to focus views outdoors for younger students, and floor-to-ceiling in older students’ spaces
•Flexible furnishings that transition from single-student work surfaces to group work tables, as students move from “me” to “we”
•An operable wall for the 4th-5th grade neighborhood living room; living rooms in the 6th and 7th-8th grade neighborhoods are designed for more independent, spontaneous small group collaborations
•Distinct interior academic neighborhood palettes, brought together in the village commons

The neighborhoods are self-contained, but can be connected when collaboration among grades or subject matter is desired. Multi-age group projects, reading and math support sessions, ESL classes, and gifted programs all happen within the same neighborhood via folding glass partitions, open gathering spaces, and transparent group study rooms.

A unique “village commons” at the heart of the school blends library, dining, and performance spaces, to nurture the creative spirit of the child and provide opportunities to engage the local community. The public path extends from the main entry past the activity gym, through the village commons, and culminates at the two-story learning commons, vertically connecting academic neighborhoods.

To inspire and encourage lifelong student health and wellness, the school includes a climbing wall/yoga classroom, outdoor learning areas, and indoor/outdoor fine arts spaces. Outside the neighborhoods, the design extends learning beyond the traditional classroom into such spaces as a project-based maker lab, a visual arts studio with an outdoor activity terrace, and music rehearsal spaces. Learning stations, with scannable QR codes, transform the building into a living laboratory, giving students a glimpse of how much energy is being created with the photovoltaic roof panels, how plumbing works, etc.