Come next year, the students of Dakota will be introduced to an all-new Media Center with a more modern design, improved technology, a café, plus extra space and new seating to enjoy! 

The Media Center will have one of the biggest facilities upgrades that the school has had in a very long time, so students and staff alike are very excited for this new change. Mrs. Gropusso is overseeing much of the design choices regarding the color scheme, layout, and furniture for the project, and she is very excited to be able to help improve the learning environment of the Media Center and the overall look of the well-loved space. Any questions about the new installments can be directed to her in the Media Center.  

The main hope for this improvement in the Media Center is to encourage more students to make full use of the space and create a comfortable environment for students to bring their studies, read, or participate in activities. 

 Mr. Koscos gave us some insight on the project in an interview and was delighted to share his thoughts on the new layout and design changes. He commented regarding the Media Center advancements, “It’s very exciting, it’s a space that is the very center of our building and we’re really looking forward to it being reshaped and redesigned to make it feel like a real 21st century learning center, our hope is that the design is attractive for students to come to on their own and experience the one-to-one technology and the changing face of education and how we do business.” 

He stated that he was awfully glad we get to “Modernize our facility” and believes it will bring “Lots of potential for our students to thrive.” It will be very nice to have our beloved Media Center transformed into a modern space where we can feel comfortable and refreshed.  

The idea of the Media center’s advancements was to give it a more modern twist and to also make it a place where students can commune either before or after school. This is one of the many reasons they are deciding to put in a café area in the media center, this is so students can come to either relax and hang out with friends or come together with a group project so they can all come together to get their work done. 

All the design plans give off a college feel to it as many colleges’ campuses have designs like what they are planning where students can either come to relax or to study and get their work done. This in turn can get many of these high school students ready and give them a taste of what actual college life is going to be like. 

Some high school students choose to go to college after they graduate from high school and this advancement will get them ready for college as it will give them a taste of what colleges can be like. 

More information regarding the actual design changes can be found in Alyssa Wend’s article “Leveling Up: Dakota’s Media Center Remodel!” on the Dakota Planet.