Akron Public Schools officials will officially open the new Firestone/Litchfield Community Learning Center campus on Aug. 28.
Visitors may tour the $83 million, 378,000-square-foot, three-story building from 1 to 4 p.m. A brief ribbon cutting ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. in the gymnasium
The first day for Litchfield students, grades six through 8, is Sept. 1. At Firestone, ninth-grade students also report on Sept. 1 and 10th- through 12th-graders start on Sept. 2.
The new building — marked with a three-story glass entrance and a jutting glass triangle — is located at 470 Castle Blvd.
The Litchfield Middle School entrance is off Fairfax Road and the Firestone High School entrance is off Castle Boulevard. Its green design qualifies for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification.
Although the high school and middle schools are connected, the design incorporates a separation of the academic areas, while allowing for collaboration and sharing of designated areas. The schools have separate administration areas, libraries and drop-off and pick-up areas.
The building has two courtyards, with picnic tables and benches, that allow for natural light. It is handicap accessible with elevators for both schools and includes security and access control systems for building access and monitoring.
The 11,000-square-foot dining area has a panel partition to separate middle and high school students during lunch. The space, with the partition open, can be used for large school and community events.
The building also includes a new planetarium with a 24-foot dome and digital projector. The planetarium will be used to study the solar system, galaxy, universe and earth sciences.
Firestone, which houses the International Baccalaureate Program, Project Lead the Way (a pre-engineering program) and the Akron School for the Arts, has a wing dedicated to the performing arts. The wing includes a three-story, 720-seat gallery style theater; a dance studio; dressing rooms with lighted mirrors; an orchestra room; an instrumental music room; and a vocal music room.
The Project Lead the Way area has a designated space for a computer lab, a cutting room and assembly area.
The lobby area can also serve as space for theatrical performances and the 2,174-seat main gymnasium is large enough to accommodate the Dies Memorial Wrestling Tournament.
The separate Litchfield gymnasium, with bleacher seating for 594 people, can be divided into two smaller gyms.
A concession area is situated to serve both the theater and gym areas.
Renovations on the natatorium and auxiliary gym, which take up 40,000 square feet, are underway and are expected to be completed by October.
Parking for visitors is available on and around the campus. Overflow parking with a bus shuttle service is available from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the former Perkins Middle School, 630 Mull Ave.; Akron Public Schools Central Learning Center, 400 W. Market St. and Northwest Family Recreation Center, 1730 Shatto Ave.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.