Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education Seeks to Create Accessible School
When the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education looked at their school buildings and the needs of the student population to help create their three-year capital plan, they noticed a few gaps. One opportunity presented itself - to combine three schools with similar programming into one larger school and create an accessible school. The new school will be called Holy Trinity Academy.
“A lot of buildings are meeting building code, but when you have someone actually trying to access the building, it's not all that accessible,” Dr. Dwayne Zarichny, Superintendent of Schools for Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education said. “We want to go beyond code and make it truly accessible.”
Planning for Accessibility
“The goal is to have access be included from the beginning, rather than be thought of as an afterthought,” Dwayne explained.
When the Catholic Board of Education began conceptualizing this project, they realized that code is the bare minimum at this point, and there has to be a better way. One of the architects that was helping the school board create the project mentioned the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility CertificationTM program.
“We are excited to work with RHF and have their support in creating a design that is more accessible,” Dwayne said. “We want the accessible experience to begin the moment you reach the property.”
Some of the design elements that are to be included in the school are accessible parking with covered stalls, paths of travel that are level and smooth, an accessible playground so all students can participate, wayfinding that will work for all students from K-12 by including braille and color coded systems, and adjustable desks and shelves, among many others.
A Model of Access
“Our goal is to have this facility be the exemplar of access. When other public buildings are being built across the province, we want them to look at this school as a model,” Dwayne said.
The Catholic Board of Education in Medicine Hat has been putting a lot of work in ensuring that this project allows all students to participate fully in school life. 1 in 4 individuals in Canada identify as having a disability, a number that is rising. Planning for access will help ensure that everyone, from students to parents or caregivers, can access all areas of the school and participate in the school community.
“We want students with disabilities, regardless of anything, to participate as fully as possible,” Dwayne said. “There’s always going to be more barriers to eliminate, but our intent is to have as much of that building as accessible as possible.”
The journey will not be done with this project, accessibility is ongoing and dynamic. When students flood the hallways at the new Holy Trinity Academy, the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education expects feedback and will see where the design is and isn't working. This project will also help inform decisions at other schools about what upgrades could provide the largest accessibility upgrades at other schools.
“We are blessed that we have a Board that wants this and to be a part of this,” Dwayne said. “We want for everyone who sets foot on the school property to be able to fully participate.”
