Major renovation plans for Meade High School have moved closer to becoming a reality.
Following a multi-year wait for funding, the Department of Defense has approved a grant for architectural and engineering design work which must be completed to qualify the renovation for a federal capital construction grant.
“The AACPS Facilities Division continues to actively work with FGGM personnel and the DoD’s Office of Economic Adjustment to pursue a federal grant to comprehensively renovate and expand Meade High School,” said Alex Szachnowicz, Chief Operating Officer of Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS). “Design efforts are ongoing and expected to be completed by April 2020. Construction must await the award of the second phase of the grant.”
The proposed renovation would include demolishing 84,416 square feet of school space, renovating 266,726 square feet and adding 199,355 square feet.
“The renovation plans look amazing. When the project comes to fruition, it will serve the students of Meade really well,” said Maureen McMahon, AACPS Deputy Superintendent.
Built in the 1970s around a “school without walls” concept, Meade High School has undergone partial renovations over the decades to add some walls needed for more contemporary learning environments and improved student flow. The school, however, requires modernization and expansion to serve its growing student population.
“The planned renovation would increase the school’s functionality and its ability to serve kids in a really high-end, 21st Century way,” McMahon said.
“We are excited about the design and the potential for constructing a new school that has an exterior that emulates the great things happening inside the building,” said Tim O’Ferrall, FMA General Manager.
Meade High School provides outstanding opportunities to study STEM, languages and the humanities, and earn college credits while still in high school, said Penny Cantwell, Chair of the FMA Education and Workforce Development Committee. In recent years, the school’s Homeland Security Program, Cyber Patriot program, Project Lead the Way, and International Baccalaureate program have attracted additional students to Meade High School.
