"We need the best for our kids. When you have a learning environment that is conducive, it's better for our teachers, administrators, and most importantly, our students."
Governor Albert Bryan Jr.
The evidence of dramatic change is all around us and it’s happening at exponential speed. As technology changes our physical, digital, and biological worlds, teaching and learning are working to follow suit. 

In order to prepare our children for success in the real world, opportunity today requires that education embraces a child’s natural development, meeting them where they are, with an open understanding that every child learns differently, at their own pace, and with inspiration fueled by their own  individual interests. 

The Virgin Islands Department of Education aspires to build upon its current educational models by recognizing the need to improve its ability to adapt to the rate of technological change by looking for ways to optimize learning, and by finding ways to capture and encourage the creativity that is naturally present in our youth. 

The Educational Facility Master Plan will make recommendations as how to build upon the powerful teaching that is happening in U.S. Virgin Islands Public Schools and support educational success at all levels. 

The Educational Facility Master Plan will assess existing facilities on Curriculum Space Alignment, Capacity, and Facility Design Potential. 

St. Croix

St. Thomas

St. John
The Educational Facility Master Plan outlines a shift to a PreK-8 and 9-12 programming model, with a mix of comprehensive and magnet high schools. The benefits of this model are detailed below. 
Highlighted Benefits of PreK-8 Schools
Benefit #1 Increased Academic Achievement
Facility Impact: Environments that Support All Learning Styles

Benefit #2 Positive Student Attitude Toward School
Facility Impact: Strong Sense of School Pride through Branding

Benefit #3 Reduced Disciplinary Problems
Facility Impact: Transparency and Student Work on Display
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Benefit #4 Fewer School Transitions
Facility Impact: Creating a School Within a School
Benefit #5 Longer Student and Staff Relationships
Facility Impact: Access to Administration and Staff

Benefit #6 In-Depth Academics & Specialization
Facility Impact: Spaces that Support Future Technology

Benefit #7 Students Experience Leadership Roles
Facility Impact: Opportunities for Collaboration & Presentation

Benefit #8 Promote Physical & Emotional Safety
Facility Impact: Safe and Secure Environment
Highlighted Benefits of a Mix of Comprehensive and Magnet High Schools
Benefit #1 Facility Impact

Benefit #2 Reduces Faculty Duplication
Benefit #3 A Variety of Large & Small High School Communities
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Benefit #4 Improved Linkages to Community & Industry

​Design Exploration
Artistic Vision of a Conceptual Design Arthur A. Richards PreK-8 School
Artistic Vision of a Conceptual Design Charlotte Amalie High School
​Artistic Vision of a Conceptual Design Julius E. Sprauve K-12 School

Educational Facility Tours

In January 2020, 25 schools across St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John were toured. These visits allowed the opportunity to see the campuses in operation, and to meet with the principals and assistant principals to get a better understanding of the needs of each school. 
The Educational Facility Master Plan was carefully crafted to reflect the vision of the Virgin Islands Department of Education. It aligns the requirements to maximize student and teacher engagement with the physical attributes of all schools and support buildings within each district. In order to ensure the proper implementation of the vision crafted in the Educational Facility Master Plan, the design team has included design guidelines.

These guidelines are not prescriptive technical specifications, but rather are performance-based standards that align both space curriculum factors, which correlate with improved engagement of all stakeholders, with the physical attributes of individual buildings that maximize the sustainable and resilient strategies identified as priorities during the master planning process.
A detailed summary of the Design Guidelines ​is outlined in the Educational Facility Master Plan.
Review the full Design Guidelines section at the link below.
05_vide_master_plan_20200629_advancement_opp_design_guidelines.pdf
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