DOWNTOWN — San Diego High School celebrated the grand opening of three new College, Career and Technical Education (CCTE) facilities this month at the school’s Educational Complex in December. The facilities include a Culinary Arts facility, School of Business Management and Multimedia Studio. The oldest school in the San Diego Unified School District has undergone quite a modern renovation with the $5.6 million project. More than 8,000-square-feet of the school’s existing buildings have been reconstructed to incorporate the latest technology and state-of-the-art equipment in hands-on classrooms. Nearly 5,000-square-feet of San Diego High School’s existing Building 100 have been remodeled to accommodate the new Culinary Arts facility and School of Business Management. The Culinary Arts facility, a 2,627-square-foot portion of the building, houses high-tech commercial food service equipment, a teaching kitchen with prep and cook-line area, lecture lab classroom with an interactive white board, salad bar area and canopy used to serve student lunches, and a new outdoor dining area for special culinary events. A 2,262-square-foot portion of Building 100 houses two new classrooms and a conference room that comprise the School of Business Management. The facility includes modern technology with interactive white boards, a one-hour exit corridor to comply with the state’s building code requirements, and renovated Associated Student Body storefront including digital signage and a weather-protected canopy. The 3,500-square-foot television studio located on the ground floor of Building 300 at the high school has been designed by industry experts to include a 1,800-square-foot studio with 560-square-foot adjoining control room, a 900-square-foot audio-visual classroom, and a 240-square-foot editing room with four workstations and a sound booth. The new facilities coincide with the San Diego Unified School District’s CCTE project, which places students in a professional, work-based learning environment. “The program prepares students to successfully transition from secondary education to college and a career,” said CCTE director Shawn Lescher, emphasizing that theory and application must work hand-in-hand. “All of the programs work in conjunction with after school programs and will be utilized early in the morning until late in the evening,” he said. Approximately 900 students are enrolled in the new Culinary Arts Management, Finance and Business, and High Definition Broadcast/Multimedia Production programs to be taught in the new facilities. The additions to San Diego High School are three of 22 CCTE projects lined up for the San Diego Unified School District, funded by California Prop 1D and San Diego Unified’s Prop S. “We have about one renovation opening up every two months for the next one-and-a-half to two years,” Lescher said. For more information about San Diego Unified School District and upcoming projects, visit www.sandi.net.
