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Barack H. Obama Magnet University School

New Haven, CT

Barack Obama Magnet University School
Barack Obama Magnet University School
Barack Obama Magnet University School
Barack Obama Magnet University School

Award
2020 AIA Connecticut Design Merit Award

Context and Background
Originally located on Orchard Street in New Haven, the Strong School was opened in 1808 and has been relocated multiple times within in the City of New Haven. With a vision “to empower 21st Century learners by giving them the communication, academic, and social skills necessary to succeed in a technologically advancing world,” this PreK-4 lab school was relocated in 2019 to a new site on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). From this location, the School and the University have been able to deepen their collaboration and provide a dynamic project-based educational experience for students and valuable opportunities for students and faculty of SCSU’s School of Education.

In June of 2018 the school was renamed the Barack H. Obama Magnet University School.

New Haven operates the largest school construction program in Connecticut. Starting in 1995, the Citywide School Construction Program has addressed 41 school programs with additions, renovation, or new construction. New Haven public school buildings are designed to enhance the learning environment for students and staff and provide facilities that can be used year-round by the school and community. By 2016, these projects totaled $1.489 billion in building investment; overall nearly 4 million square feet of school building will be impacted by the program.

StrongSchoolSiteAnalysis