Special to NKyTribune
When Northern Kentucky high school students return to school next fall, they’ll have a brand-new public option to consider: Ignite Institute at Roebling Innovation Center. Ignite opens August 2019 on the 22-acre Erlanger campus that once housed Toyota’s Quality & Production Engineering Laboratory.
Ignite will not charge tuition, nor will it require a minimum GPA, but it will offer hands-on and case-based courses in the STEAM subjects of science, technology, engineering, visual arts, and mathematics. These are the subjects shown to be in highest demand by fast-growing industries throughout the region.
A rendering:
A high-tech high school calls for an equally high-tech campus, and Boone County Schools secured a $6.8 million Work Ready Skills Initiative grant to help transform the Atlantic Avenue campus into a learning space that will empower students in ways traditional working environments cannot provide. The school will feature computer-aided manufacturing spaces, video production facilities, makerspaces and other smart spaces designed to foster innovation and collaboration between scholars, educators, and Greater Cincinnati industry leaders.
While the school is operated by Boone County Schools, students throughout the region will be able to attend.
“Boone County Schools’ district leadership team over the past four years visited similarly innovated schools in California, Texas, Nashville, and Kentucky,” said Boone County Assistant Superintendent of Operations Michael Poiry. “This was important to ensure our vision for the Ignite Institute would rival some of the most innovative high schools in the nation.”
The artist rendering at the top of the story offers a glimpse into how Ignite Institute will look once renovations are completed in late spring of 2019. Browse the photos below, with notes from Assistant Superintendent Poiry, for a behind-the-scenes look at the transformation so far.
Phase 1: Demolition, February 2018
“We separated the construction process of Ignite into a demolition phase and construction phase. This two-phase approach allowed us to be more efficient and creative through this construction process,” Poiry said.
The 183,000-square-foot Ignite campus is located at 37 Atlantic Avenue. An open configuration, once home to teams of Toyota engineers, makes the space ideal for use as a high school and technical institute, with multiple elevators, high ceilings, natural lighting, and plenty of square footage that will house both classrooms and group project space.
Phase 2: Construction, May 2018
Construction teams begin making upgrades to roofing, HVAC, plumbing and other infrastructure. The campus begins to take shape with framed classroom walls and flooring.
“The pace of the construction process has been quick, and we are staying on schedule,” said Poiry. “This is in much part due to our extensive pre-planning. But due to this being an interior renovation of an industrial space, we haven’t had to deal with any potential weather delays.”
“The construction process collaborates closely with the curriculum and instructional stakeholders of the Ignite Institute,” said Poiry. “Our constant collaboration has been a critical component to the success of the construction process. We are constructing a facility that is supportive of the curricular and instructional vision of Ignite.”
