Pirates Union gives PCS students a taste of life after high school
PINCKNEY — Final touches are being put on the $3.4 million bond project of the Pirates Union at Pinckney High School to give students a taste of working in a professional environment.
"It's our obligation to make sure we have an opportunity through our 2020 bond to take a look at, how can we maximize the space for teaching and learning in the year 2020 and beyond?" said Pinckney Community Schools Superintendent Rick Todd.
According to Todd, PHS was built in 1999 and at that time, the highlight of the school was the library and media center. Over the past two decades, a lot has changed in education, including how students use technology and how a space is utilized.
"The way we access information has changed dramatically and with COVID as well, shifting to really utilizing the technology with Google Classroom and online instruction and teachers feeling more comfortable utilizing the technology tools that we have at our disposal," Todd said.
Taking those two pieces into consideration, the design for the Pirates Union was born in early 2020.
"We came to the realization that the space was sitting empty for a big chunk of the time. Not that kids couldn't use the tables and chairs to do work and things of that sort, but we did not see students accessing resource material, but even just reading for pleasure," Todd said.
He added that Pinckney already has the Pinckney Community Public Library and Hamburg Township Library that kids can go to for resources they need, and they do.
Through research, Todd and others discovered how the space could be used for students that are dual enrolled in courses at Washtenaw Community College, while giving them a taste of a modern-day student union on a university campus.
"Our high schools are sometimes, not just high schools, but they're almost like mini community colleges, at the same time," Todd said. "My vision was, I wanted it to look like a new state of the art student union. If you walked on a campus at Eastern Michigan (University) or if you go to Michigan State (University) or even some community college partners, but also some of the professional collaboration spaces. (Students) get a feel to work in that environment because that's really what their world is going to look like."
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The Pirates Union includes multiple zones including, huddle rooms, a conference room, tables and booths for a "coffee shop feel," high top tables, displays, a stage, whiteboards, an interactive display, a learning lab for a whole class of students and a center space with movable tables and chairs.
"It really reflects our learners today. Not only how they learn today but what it's going to look like when they go into a post-secondary environment and even more importantly when they get into the professional world. I truly believe environment helps nurture their growth and their thinking," Todd said.
"Sometimes my team will work at the high school and for kids to be able to see adults working, kind of collaborating with them, I think is really powerful and it sends a powerful message. Kids can sit at an executive table and do some planning and some work."
— Contact reporter Patricia Alvord at palvord@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Pirates Union gives PCS students a taste of life after high school
