The goal of the new facility is to provide additional space to help serve more students by expanding overall programming down to sixth grade starting this fall and by expanding the number of students in grades 7-8, which will help alleviate capacity restrictions at GISA’s current location inside the Springfield Center of Innovation at The Dome.
“Even though we will be serving more students, in a lot of ways we will be able to create a smaller feel throughout the building through small things. This will lower the number of students in each classroom by a few as well as making things, like lunch time, smaller,” said Founding Director Josh Jennings.
Phase I complete
With construction of the new facility and phase I complete, contractors are working to finish asphalting and striping the parking lot and some exterior painting and branding.
The new facility will include academic spaces such as biochemistry and environmental science labs, which are supported by a prep room between them; an art room with its own kiln room; chemistry and physical science labs, also supported by a collaborative prep room; a food science room; an agriculture lab and patio with a garage door; a delivery dock, greenhouse; and general classroom.
Among other features, the building will have an entry plaza; an administrative suite with a reception area, four private offices, a nurses station, conference room, guidance suite with three private counselor offices and a waiting room, kitchenette and seating area, central commons area, outdoor patio, bus and parent drop off, plus a parking lot.
Clark State provided the land for the new facility and will continue to provide additional classroom space for GISA teachers and students on their campus.
Marker Construction, the design builder, and a team from WSA Studio, a design partner, worked on the project.
The total budget for the project, including all pre-construction services and soft costs, is $16,945,000. GISA will contribute $5.25 million out of its general fund, with the remaining $11.7 million being financed, supported by cash collateral of $1.75 million from unnamed philanthropic partners.
Phase I came in $500,000 under budget and ahead of schedule, Jennings said.
Student enrollment
Jennings said GISA has conducted its lottery and is in the enrollment process for all incoming sixth and seventh grade students. They have exceeded their target of 185 students in each of those grades and have a waitlist beyond that.
This is an increase in how many students they were able to serve in the past, at 125 students per grade level, Jennings said. The student enrollment for grades 6-12 is projected to grow from 940 students in 2025-26 to 1,225 by 2030-31.
“By moving grades 10-12 out of our building (The Dome) and in the new facility on Clark State’s campus, it gave us the capacity to expand,” he said.
GISA’s team continues to work on developing programming for sixth grade and above that includes courses in STEM Foundations and Engineering, while also focusing on their primary focus in the agriculture industry.
New staff
As part of the expansion, GISA hired Kristyn Keriazes as sixth and seventh grade administrator, who is “leading the charge” in developing of programming and putting the new staff together, which also includes current GISA instructors, Jennings said.
Current high school director Michael Payne will move to the new facility for grades 10 through 12, and the current middle school director Anton Kilburn will supervise eighth through ninth grades at the current facility.
GISA is in the process of hiring 14 additional instructional staff positions for next school year in grades 6-7, including two additional intervention specialists. They also added a support staff professional and a technology coordinator through the Miami Valley Computer Association (MVECA).
Although students won’t officially start until the fall, GISA’s district level operations will move into the new facility on June 1 with some officials working out of the building as needed.
Phase II
GISA officials are now starting to work on a phase II building. Starting in the fall of 2027, the new facility will be for grades 9-12 when phase II is complete.
The current plan is a 32,559 square foot additional building that will include 15 classrooms, three science labs, three STEM classrooms, e-sports lab, as well as guidance and student support space.
“With the increase in students served per grade level, eventually those 185 seventh graders will be 185 ninth graders and we will need that space to support them,” Jennings said.
“The additional space will also allow us to move all the classrooms from Clark State’s buildings into this new facility. The two phases of this project will work together as one high school with the current location at The Dome being specifically for grades 6-8.”
The estimated cost is around $18.5 million, which Jennings said is a “slightly moving target” based on several factors and having the ability to adjust with the potential financing.
GISA is planning to issue bonds to finance phase II, as well as refinance a portion of the phase I project. They plan to sell bonds as publicly offered securities in the late summer of 2025, Jennings said. As phase I was, phase II is a collaborative project with Clark State College and the West Central Ohio Port Authority.
Events in new facility
The first event in the new facility will be the senior capstone expo from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, May 8. Jennings said every senior completes a capstone project as part of the required programming at GISA and it will be an evening for family members, industry partners and mentors to see first-hand the projects and experiences they have completed.
Officials will also conduct field trips/mini-orientations in the spring for students who will be in the new facility next year.
A ribbon cutting for the new facility will be held at 1:30 p.m., Friday, May 23. The event will include recognizing partners and key stakeholders, as well as a tour at the end of the ceremony.
About the Author
