Redding School of the Arts
Students from Redding School of the Arts are now housed on a new campus off of Shasta View Drive in Redding that unites children in grades kindergarten through 8th grade who have been taught in two separate locations for years. Strikingly, the campus boasts LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the US Green Building Council’s coveted certification and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. What this means for students at RSA is that they will spend their days in classrooms and other learning spaces flooded with natural light and fresh air and an absence of most toxic emissions caused by paint, carpet, and other synthetics found in new buildings.
The project accommodates approximately 400 students and 60 employees in about 52,000 square feet, in a two-story building that includes classrooms, art rooms, music rooms, a library and information center, and a technology room/piano lab. A key feature of the arts campus is an outdoor assembly area containing 490 seats and offering enclosed dance and drama rooms that can be opened to create performance venues.
Nicholle Uhleman, a student at the school, is excited about the prospect of being in the first class of 8th graders to graduate from the new school. She’s a dance enthusiast and loves doing art projects. One of her favorite features of the new school is the non-traditional classrooms that combine indoor and outdoor learning areas.
The groundbreaking ceremony and unveiling of the new RSA sign took place on August 20, 2008. The McConnell Foundation built the new facility as a program-related investment and leases it back to RSA. It is structured as a landlord/tenant relationship with a minimum 20-year lease. The Foundation board sees this project as an opportunity to build a LEED Platinum-certified school showcasing building and site elements that enhance learning and complement visual and performing arts education. The school will also strive to meet the Collaborative for High Performance School (CHPS) standards.