The event will begin outside of the newly renovated front entrance where Mayor Warren Copeland will give an address, followed by remarks from several Springfield City School District leaders.
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For the first time in more than a decade, visitors will be able to enter the building via the front entrance and walk through the commons. A short video will then be shown in the John Legend Theatre in which mentors and students will talk about what the Dome has come to mean to them.
The public can then take student-led tours of facilities or browse the displays that the students prepared. The Clark State Lab, John Legend Theatre, YOUmedia, makerspace areas, digital media labs, welding lab, wood shop, and reCYCLE bike shop will all be available to tour.
The Dome was originally Springfield High School before being turned into Springfield South High School. The school closed in 2008 and sat vacant until 2014 when a consortium of schools received the Straight A grant to turn the old building into an educational hub.
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“I think the community really, really enjoyed the space. It’s nostalgic for a lot of them, and I think that’s really why it was important to save the building,” Stacy added.
In 2015 the building opened, though parts were still under construction. But now the master plan that was originally proposed is now complete, said Kim Fish, Director of Communications and Collective Impact.
“It gives kids an opportunity to experience things that they would otherwise not get a chance to experience,” Stacy said. “And as they start to develop and they become more interested, they become more engaged, they become curious and then we try to figure out how does this relate? So we try to help them relate it to what they can do long term. And they start to, I think, see themselves as successful because maybe they’re not doing great in a standard school setting, but here they may excel, so that really helps with their self confidence.”
In the last year, activities at the Dome have included more than 1,000 students.
“Some of them drop in every Monday and Wednesday, but we had 450 students who came on a regular basis.”
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Overall the renovations cost roughly $22.5 million.
The Springfield City School District contributed about $2.5 million. The Springfield City School District and its partners won a competitive grant for $11 million, $6 million of which was used to renovate the space that the Global Impact STEM Academy now leases.
After being open for three years, GISA qualified for roughly $6 million in Ohio School Commission Funding. GISA also contributed $1 million in that came from donations and their own funds.
Clark State contributed $1 million, which they received through the state capital funds
The most recent renovations cost roughly $6 million and were done primarily with funds from the school funding commission. The renovations include the third floor renovations, green house, an additional lab, the front steps, commons, parking areas, and several bathrooms.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown will be visiting on Friday to talk about mentoring and other topics under the Dome.
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