Irvine's newest public school debuts with state-of-the-art design

By Irvine City News staff

The Irvine Unified School District's newest school, Cadence Park, welcomed its first students in August. Cadence Park is IUSD's fourth K-8 school and its 40th school overall. It serves students in North Irvine, including Great Park Neighborhoods and the Altair Irvine. "Few communities get the rare chance to build an institution of learning from the ground up," said IUSD Board of Education's Ira Glasky . "It's an opportunity to forge a new school and a new school culture that will serve as the educational foundation for future generations. And very few, if any, will ever create a school as incredible as Cadence Park will be." The 94,000-square-foot Art Deco inspired campus is on 13 acres and includes innovative educational features that represent the latest in research and knowledge of best practices to serve young students. These new elements include: • A next generation innovation lab with a makers space with an attached video production room. The space will also be equipped with sinks and a roll-up door to the exterior to create a flexible learning space. • A media center/library with several windows for natural light that includes a dedicated story telling space, which also doubles as a small-group work area. The library is designed to feature books as well as digital media now, and in future years. • All classrooms in grades 1-5 have a direct connection to the interior student collaboration spaces. • The 6th- to 8th-grade quad includes an outdoor amphitheater, covered small-group instruction areas, space for outdoor science activities and a garden. • Outdoor collaboration spaces throughout the campus for all grade levels. • A gymnasium with attached fitness lab. Great Park Neighborhoods' developer FivePoint in partnership with IUSD funded Cadence Park. It's the second of three K-8 schools and one high school already built and planned for the area.