photo by: Alan Olson

Hundreds of new students and their families filter into Wheeling Park High School for the Freshmen & New Student Tailgate event this past August.

A new facility at Wheeling Park High School gives students the opportunity to collaborate “in the round” within what was once the media center at the school.

WPHS will host an open house for the public and Ohio County Board of Education members beginning at 5 p.m. Monday, during which time visitors will get to tour the WPHS Innovative Learning Center that replaces the former media center on the second floor.

A school board meeting follows in the new area beginning at 6 p.m.

At the center of the Innovative Learning Center is a “kiva,”or a round room serving as a cooperative space where students can gather and everyone is equal for discussion, explained Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones.

He added the kiva idea comes from the Pueblo Indians, who used the round room concept for rites and political meetings. It is the center of what is thought will be a very special addition to WPHS, and to Ohio County Schools, according to Jones.

The Innovative Learning Center opening completes more than $23 million in renovation work at WPHS.

“Of all the things we’ve done, this is the most impressive,” Jones said.

It has often been said the former media center unto itself was larger than many schools, and the abundance of space now has been transformed into different areas.

In addition to the kiva, there will be a room for small presentations, a lab for hydroponics and growing vegetables indoors, and a large maker space area.

There are also smaller meeting rooms for students.

The Innovative Learning Center is also lit by eight skylights, Jones said.

The $23 million in building projects at WPHS is part of a $76 million district-wide upgrade of buildings in Ohio County Schools, with $44 million of the amount approved by voters through a levy passed in 2018. The West Virginia School Building Authority provided another $27 million, and the remainder is expected to be off-set through energy saving.

The $23 million price tag for renovations at WPHS does not include an additional $3.5 million spent to construct a new athletic field there. New turf for the school’s baseball field also has been purchased at $1.5 million.