My New School regional project is a process of school reconstruction that provides that an action group including school students, teachers, graduates, parents’ board and School committee representatives, as well as some residents of the area, is formed during the planning stage. That way, a renovation would not only be that, but would also become a gravitation point for all the education process participants. For example, the Sosnovsk middle school in the Guryevsk rural district is focused on farming, so their students get career guidance on how to become farmers in the future. Having features like that one is mandatory for participation in the My New School program.

Back at the design stage we’re already thinking about the school contents. Taking into account the target audience’s needs, including those related to establishing a multi-purpose school, extracurricular education to satisfy the needs of children and grown-ups. Besides, the parties to the education relationships are involved in developing and running public control over the project implementation.

The renovation process is initiated by the school; the action group develops a unique design project with the list of the required equipment (all the new schools under construction or reconstruction are designed as digital schools outfitted with cutting edge equipment) and the occupancy requirements. After that the project is presented to the sponsors and the regional government. The renovation doesn’t concern the school facility alone, but covers the entire surrounding territory.

Each year 12 schools in the region join the My New School project, each with their unique modern education environment design.

1. Design development:

The action group from the School No.7 including school students, teachers, parents board and School committee representatives run a competition in order to involve students and their parents in school management and help them develop a proactive approach to life.

The competition involved:

Analysis of the target audiences’ (students, parents and teachers’) educational needs which served as the basis for drafting the lists of education equipment in order to set up a personalized education trajectory for every child, work program for every teacher and the school as a whole.
”My Favorite Classroom” art and design competition;
”My Future School” essay competition;
Corporate style (logo, motto, etc.), and the school mission development effort.

The result was the “The Seventh Continent - School of the Future” design project.

2. Looking for partners:

The School Board and Management contacted the Kuzbass Governor Sergey Tsivilyov, who backed the plans to fully renovate the school.

Later the project was titled My New School and got upgraded to the regional status, covering 12 schools in the region per year, each with their own unique modern education environment project.

Presently the My New School project is being supervised by the Kuzbass Construction Ministry and the Ministry of Education and Science.

3. Project implementation:

October-November 2018 - school design created;

November-December 2018 - design specifications and estimates approved;

December 2018-May 2019 - construction operations;

November 2018-May 2019 - equipment purchase and assembly;

June 2019 - facility commissioning according to the current laws.

September 1, 2019 - school opens after renovations.

Capital repairs of the school were finished in 9 months: renovated 36 discipline classrooms, the gym, the assembly hall, rooms for extra-curricular and project activities, service rooms (about 7,000 square meters renovated in total).

The school has everything children would need to successfully master the primary, middle and high school curriculums.

All the classrooms have digital equipment installed.

The school has everything for sports (volleyball, basketball, archery, airgun shooting, skiing, climbing wall), creativity (school theater and dance studio, animation, singing and recording studios, a library), engineering and research (digital research labs in 5 fields).

Complete safety of students and staff is at the forefront: the school has an automated fire alarm system, a smoke removal system, lightning protection for buildings and facilities, access control via a private security service, and an alarm button.

The school grounds were renovated during the repairs, the sports ground (the football field, the running track, the open-air PE complex, the ice rink, the playground) were all modernized.

At the city government’s initiative, the nearby pre-school facilities and residential blocks were renovated.

The Angels Park designed by John Weidman (USA) is now located behind the school building. The park landscape is unique, representing the natural diversity of the Siberian taiga, ideal for running school projects on environmental science and tourism.