Beaumont School to host grand opening for $9.5 million STEM addition

Beaumont School will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for its building addition on Monday, Jan. 5 at 9:30 a.m. at the building’s entrance on North Park Boulevard in Cleveland Heights. The $9.5 million investment includes eight new STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) classroom labs and four lab prep rooms, which will propel Beaumont forward as a leading school in STEM curriculum.   

Construction on the two-story, nearly 25,000 square foot building began in September 2013. In addition to new classrooms and prep rooms, the LEED-certified building also includes a new student commons, guidance suite, clinic, and administrative offices, and creates a new main entrance and an additional parking lot for the school. The addition of new STEM classrooms will enhance Beaumont’s existing curriculum in the sciences. Although many Beaumont students excel in STEM subjects, the school’s current science wing is more than 50 years old and lacks the infrastructure to support new technologies.

Over the past several years, Beaumont’s curriculum has expanded to include new STEM focused subjects and extracurricular activities, including a pre-engineering program and a nationally recognized robotics team. By emphasizing a strong foundation in STEM subjects, students will be better able to analyze and solve problems, work collaboratively toward solutions, and have greater comfort with technology. No matter the career path students ultimately choose, Beaumont’s investment in STEM will provide experiences that cultivate creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking.

Over the past 10 years, Beaumont has invested nearly $18 million in its campus, showing its dedication to the future of its students and its campus in Cleveland Heights, where the school has been located for more than 70 years. In addition to the $9.5 million STEM addition, Beaumont has also invested in:

• The construction of the Spiritual Life Center, which includes a chapel and theater, in 2004 ($5 million);
• The renovation of athletic and science facilities in 2006 (1.6 million);
• The purchase of eight acres of land and the Painter Mansion in 2009 from the Ursuline Sisters, which sits adjacent from the current school building and serves as administrative offices ($1.4 million);
• The construction of a new courtyard in 2012 ($216,000);
• The renovation of music facilities in 2012 ($141,000).
  
  

Van Auken Akins Architects, LLC, owned by Beaumont alumna Jill Van Auken Akins ’78, designed the building addition. The Albert M. Higley Company served as the building’s construction contractor. The $9.5 million addition is being funded by a capital campaign, and will not raise student tuition costs.

The building will be open and students will begin classes in the addition following the ribbon cutting on Jan. 5. A formal dedication ceremony will follow in May 2015.

Beaumont has always been committed to excellence in education and dedicated to preparing young women for life, leadership and service. For the past 11 years, the Ohio Academy of Science has recognized Beaumont School with the Outstanding School Award for overall excellence in science achievement and the science department faculty with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Youth Science Opportunities.