World Language department moves into new $7.9 million building
By Tammie Tam
Originally published on October 9, 2016
A few days before the beginning of the 2016–17 school year, the World Language teachers transformed 12 new classrooms into a comfortable learning environment for students in the new World Language building, the bigger and more energy-efficient replacement for the temporary “T” bungalows.
The building has two wings connected by an outdoor courtyard; the smaller wing contains the Korean and Latin classes during the school day as well as yoga classes and an upgraded practice area intended for cheer and wrestling after school, while the main wing houses 11 classrooms for the World Language department.
Throughout the whole building, signs on the walls encourage eco-friendly habits and remind visitors of the ecological thought put into the building. For example, the classrooms are designed to enhance learning and concentration with natural lighting. In addition, the rooms feature improved acoustic performance, as the walls prevent echoes so teachers’ voices will sound clearer and louder to provide a more engaging environment, as one sign stated.
The most noteworthy eco-friendly, energy-efficient features implemented in the World Language building are:
- A bioretention pond system, which collects rainwater so the water can slowly evaporate over time instead of overloading the city sewer storm system
- Energy efficient building furnaces
- Double glazed exterior windows
- Low flush valves at toilets
- Skylights and tubular solar lights to let in natural lighting
- Wall and roof insulation
- Systematic lighting and occupancy controls of occupied rooms
- Wide hallways without lockers to minimize traffic during passing periods
Besides the ecological factors incorporated into the building’s overall design, other specific details were considered and included for extracurricular activities. The smaller wing was designed to include a new practice space for the cheer and wrestling teams. In previous years, both teams practiced in the cafeteria.
However, the cheer team will continue practicing in the cafeteria instead of the World Language building. The cafeteria is ideal for late practices, and its high ceiling is a safer alternative than the World Language building’s low hanging lights, according to new cheerleading coach and Lowell alumna Hina Iwata.
As for the wrestling team, the smaller space will have a big impact on the way the team practices when they make the move to the new area in mid-October. The new practice space will be 25–30 percent smaller than the cafeteria, so it may not accommodate all the wrestlers if their team exceeds 30 members. As a result, they may need to implement staggered practice intervals, according to wrestling coach Michael Wise.
Although the smaller space could cause a minor setback for the wrestling team, its daily setup time may potentially be cut in half. Unannounced after school activities in the cafeteria will no longer interfere with wrestling practice, and the cleaner space will finally match up to the team’s reputation, according to Wise.
Meanwhile in the main wing, language teachers and students are experiencing their fair share of the new building’s benefits and setbacks.
Teachers and students generally have a favorable opinion of the new language building. In particular, the natural lighting and large windows have been one of its most highly praised features. “All the classrooms have windows, which remind me that there is a world outside of Lowell,” junior Mylene Canosa said.
“All the classrooms have windows, which remind me that there is a world outside of Lowell.”
In addition, many teachers enjoy using the ceiling mounted projectors. “We have new projectors, which is really nice because I use mine a fair amount,” Chinese language teacher Brian Danforth said. “It’s nice not to have the old Dukane cart in the middle of the room, since whenever I pointed to something on the board, I’d cast a shadow.”
However, the World Language building’s distance from the main building remains as a significant inconvenience. “The only inconvenience is when teachers have to go into the main building to sign in and when we need to talk to counselors or get our supplies,” said World Language department head and Advanced Placement (AP) Chinese language teacher Xiaolin Chang.
This problem also extends to students with classes or homerooms in the World Language building, as they will take a longer amount of time traveling from one building to the other and may be marked tardy. After arriving late to her third block AP Spanish class during the first few days of the semester, sophomore Kelly Saldaña had to ask her registry teacher to dismiss her earlier so she could arrive to her class from the math wing on time.
To add to the distance problem, visiting the language lab in the science building proves to be a hassle for World Language classes. “The language lab is very far away, and going that distance is a waste of time,” Spanish language teacher Maria Martinez said. “Once we get there, we have to set up the lab, and then when we come back, I have to set up the classroom again. Because of this, I’m looking into getting Chromebooks for my classes because it will be more efficient.”
Unfortunately, the inconvenience will persist. “We did ask them if we could move the language lab to this building, but they said it would be too expensive,” Chang said.
The distance problem has been a persisting problem for classes located outside of the main building.
For over 30 years, a series of “T” bungalows occupied the area between the basketball courts and Lakeshore Elementary School where the World Language building now stands. However, the bungalows were not intended to last such a long period, so their gradual deterioration and inability to meet current ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) code called for the construction of a new building.
The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) proposed the construction of the replacement building, which began during the summer of 2015 and joined a series of construction projects in the same year. SFUSD also funded the $7.9 million project, according to project manager Mary Fung.
Once the bungalows were removed, the teachers with classrooms previously located in the T’s moved to the language wing on the second floor of the main building. As a result, the World Language department moved to the “X” bungalows on the basketball courts during the 2015–16 school year.
Principal Andrew Ishibashi decided to dedicate the new building to the World Language department because the amount of classrooms in the new building corresponded to the department’s needs, according to Chang.
