The Crawford Learning Center project accomplished many goals for Glencoe South School, including creating a Learning Center for 21st Century learners, improving the building security and adding a classroom for all-day Kindergarten.

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The existing Learning Center was inflexible and did not serve the needs of the Kindergarten through second grade students of South School.  
 

The curriculum for these students had evolved to include the following:

• Access to movable technology.

• Access to printed resources.

• A makerspace for creating tactile objects, collages and group projects.

• Inviting Areas at a child’s scale for reading in large and small groups.

• Movable chairs, tables and shelving units make it possible to change shapes on a daily, weekly and yearly basis.

• Comfortable, ergonomic seating for students and teachers.

• A class instructional space that can also be used for teacher gatherings.

• Above all, a sense of curiosity, wonder and possibility; a place for children to learn and explore.

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A key component of the plan was to convert the existing, enclosed Computer Lab to a new classroom, converting the fixed desktop work stations into laptops that can be used throughout the new Learning Center. This gained space allowed the school to add a classroom for Kindergarten, eliminating a more costly addition project.

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Bordering the perimeter of the existing Learning Center space was a single-glazed storefront construction dating back to the original 1960s addition. This storefront construction was replaced by an insulated storefront wall, meeting the current Energy Code, with forced-entry-resistant glazing. Combined with new LED lighting, the Learning Center has become more energy-efficient, more comfortable thermally and is part of a more secure building.