Orinda Union School DistrictFacilities Master Plan

PROCESS OVERVIEW

Roles & ResponsibilitiesAt the outset of the facilities master planning process, the District Leadership team set out to define the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholder participant groups. These groups were refined during the process and ultimately comprised a Steering Committee, a Facilities Master Plan Committee, an Educational Visioning Committee, individual School Site Communities, and Focus Group interviews of representatives for specialized topics.

The groups provided input throughout the project, defining educational program goals and offering direction on facilities master planning goals. All input eventually led to the creation of a set of final recommendations that will be brought before the Board of Education for review, comment, and approval.

Steering Committee (SC) directed and coordinated the process and ensured that input from a range of stakeholders would be optimized. In addition, through regular meetings, the team was responsible for reviewing outcomes from the various groups and providing input on development of the site master plans and estimated budgets to guide the FMP process.

Facilities Master Plan Committee (FMPC) was comprised of a diverse group of District Leadership, school site representatives, civic organizations staff, and local community stakeholders. Meetings were held to develop broad visioning concepts and to review and provide input on the development of the conceptual site master plans.

Educational Visioning CommitteeWorking in concert with District stakeholder groups and a workshop charrette with District teacher leaders, Educational Program Standards were developed. The intent of these standards is to establish a common baseline related to educational program delivery. Recommendations from this program vision were overlaid on the existing school sites to determine the potential impact of the educational goals to the District’s existing facilities infrastructure. As projects are implemented, this visionary document will serve as a guideline for consistency across similar facilities and programs in the District.

STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AND INVOLVEMENT

Orinda Union School DistrictFacilities Master Plan

PROCESSOVERVIEW

School Site CommunityIndividual meetings were held at each school that brought the site’s staff / community together for a brief presentation on the FMP process and engagement in a workshop. In the workshop, attendees were asked to identify features of their school that they liked and disliked, and explain why. Following this exercise, they were asked to “Dream Big” and describe their vision or idea for the site. Committee members were encouraged to remain connected to the process and invited to attend the Town Hall meeting.

School Site Committees (SSC) were formed to interact with the planning team to develop and confirm the conceptual master plan proposal for each school site in the District. Interaction with these stakeholders included a Town Hall Meeting and a follow-up principal interview with each site. Between these two sessions, each Principal was tasked with engaging their SSC and local community stakeholders as they best saw fit to meet the needs of their site. Participants included School Site Counsels, PTAs, teachers, students, parents, and site administrators.

Program Focus Group sub-committee meetings were held on an as-needed basis, to focus on particular programs, including overarching topics such as Special Services, Facilities and Maintenance trades, Food Service volunteers, Information Technology, and Athletics. This examination was performed at both the District-wide and individual school site levels to develop a holistic vision of the District’s needs within all areas of operation.

A Teacher & Staff Survey was distributed in September 2017 that targeted the usability of existing spaces and identified top needs at each school site.

Students were engaged at the Intermediate school through a multi-day exercise incorporated into the 7th Grade Science classes. Similar to the Teacher & Staff Survey, the students provided feedback on the current condition of their school and also tapped into their ideas for improvements.

STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AND INVOLVEMENT, CONTINUED

Orinda Union School DistrictFacilities Master Plan

PROCESSOVERVIEW

School Site Master Plan DevelopmentThe focus of this phase was to arrive at potential solutions and improvement strategies for each school facility in the District.

Development of conceptual site master plans took place from December 2017 through January 2018 with active involvement from District Leadership, the Facilities Master Plan Committee, and the School Site Committee groups. Proposed master plan diagrams for each school site were developed by overlaying the educational program goals and facilities needs assessment findings onto each campus. Initially, a Draft Master Plan diagram was produced and presented to the Orinda USD community in a Town Hall setting. The School Site Committees were given until late January 2018 to review and gain comments on these proposals, then conveyed this feedback to LPA in individual 1-on-1 meetings. The Final Master Plan diagram is the outcome of this process.

Final Plan Packaging and RecommendationsDuring this final phase, proposed projects and estimated budgets were finalized. All cost estimate Excel spreadsheet templates have been provided to the District upon conclusion of the planning process. This document may be utilized by the District staff in the future as a “tool kit” to run program implementation scenarios as funds become available.

The facilities master planning process consisted of numerous activities organized by phase: Visioning, Community Outreach, Conceptual Site Master Plans, Estimated Budgets, and Project Prioritization. Authentic District and community stakeholders input forms the basis of the planning process. The following is a list of activities that were conducted:

Facilities Needs Site ObservationsSite visits were conducted at the (4) Elementary schools, (1) Intermediate school, and the Wagner Ranch Nature Area. Each site visit paired with an interview of the school site principal regarding the perceived needs at their school site.

The needs assessment task included visual observations of each school to determine the condition of the grounds and buildings. Input from school principals and Facilities and Maintenance staff focused on needed upgrades to site work, plumbing, roofs, heating and air conditioning units, playgrounds and interior finishes. Each meeting was preempted with an electronic questionnaire to formally document the needs. This analysis was used as the basis for each site’s master plan and estimated project budgets.

Orinda Union School DistrictFacilities Master Plan

PROCESSOVERVIEW

Sustainableand Life Cycle

Sensitive

Healthand SafetyResponsive

DemographicProjection

Responsive

SetsGuiding

Principles

Long RangeStrategic Plan

CommunityResponsive

EducationalProgram

Responsive

FiscallyResponsive

10 Year VisionMaster PlanOutcomes

integrated PROCESS

integrated TEAM

FACILITIES MASTER PLAN ACTIVITIES