Following a full assessment and campus master plan, MSD of Washington Township made the decision to create a one-story building addition to the existing Community and Education Center (CEC) to make room for a new early learning center for the youngest learners in the district. This location had the enhanced benefit of taking advantage of shared infrastructure support.
The facility now serves as the new home for both a developmental preschool and a daycare for employees’ children, ages 2-5. The preschool addition includes administrative areas, multi-purpose room, central commons space, and classrooms arranged in “pods” or “neighborhoods,” with all associated support spaces.
Preschool classrooms are configured in neighborhood pods, flanked by resource support spaces and calming or quiet areas. The neighborhoods provide space for collaborative play and learning outside of the classroom with a connection to both the classrooms and secure corridor leading to shared spaces.
A connection to nature is an important feature in the design and is facilitated through raised ceilings at the classroom perimeter for views of the treetops. Accentuating this connection, the front entry has felt-shaped tree forms that double as acoustical treatment and a sensory play area for students waiting for assessments or siblings.