North Shore's Projected LEED School Opens its Doors

Tuesday marked the first day for students at in Winnetka, and also marked the end of a three-year construction project.

Students, teachers and officials gathered in front of the Upper School on Tuesday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the $11.5 million project.

Most notably, the school is in the running to become the first LEED school in the North Shore area, according to school officials.

Earlier:

"I'm just thrilled that it's all done now," said Cindy Hooper, the director of operations and project manager for the Upper School construction.

Construction for the Upper School, which includes new technology, interior design and structural changes, began with the 2008 master plan for the school. The Upper School houses classes on humanities, languages and mathematics for grades 9-12, for about 200 students.

"The focus is on building relationships," Hooper said. "We want to foster creativity, collaboration and socialization."

The building has 17 classrooms, some with interactive video technology used at MIT and Stanford, and includes a "leadership lab," which is essentially a classroom designated for student leaders' work. In addition, a community gathering space serves as a staircase from the main floor to the basement level, built like an amphitheater with wide steps that also function as seats.

"New Trier started at the same time with the same goals but stalled because of funding issues," Hooper said. "It's one of those public money versus private money things."

The Upper School construction is part of the $30 million donation campaign for the school, of which $25 million is in the coffers.

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