In recent years, Albemarle County Public Schools has experienced significant overcrowding issues at two of its five middle schools. To curb these ongoing challenges, and building off a long history of collaborations with the school district, Albemarle County engaged with VMDO to support a comprehensive facilities master plan for its dedicated middle schools.

VMDO’s approach to the master planning effort is embedded in ACPS’ larger strategic vision of “Learning for All,” reinforcing equity goals to ensure that every family and child has access to a high-quality education. As such, it was essential for a robust engagement process to inform the overall mission of the master plan and create consensus amongst various stakeholders on a representative framework for the effort.

Using feedback and information collected from the engagement process, VMDO explored both long- and short-term solutions for the County’s middle school population. These solutions reflect interrelated factors including capacity needs, feeder patterns, boundaries, and most importantly, expanding access. Existing conditions analysis informed key decision-making for both tangible and operational solutions, including built interventions, grade level reconfigurations, and innovative programming.

The final product provides a series of architectural concepts, current assessments, and design standards that will serve as a guiding document for future development across the school district.