The Escondido Union School District celebrated the construction of a new STEM facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Mission Middle School on Thursday, Sept. 14.

The $7.5 million, 16,884 square foot, state of the art Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) facility has six classrooms, four science labs, two project rooms, and two instructor collaboration rooms. The building took seven months to complete and is comprised of 36 modules that were built off-site.

The building is designed for high energy efficiency, with six-inch-thick walls, efficient air conditioning and lighting, and fins on exterior windows to block direct sunlight but allow ambient light. This is the first building that reflects the district’s new open concept, project-based learning rooms with garage doors and exposed concrete floors.

The new building was funded by Escondido voters through Proposition E, which was approved on Nov. 4, 2014, and authorized $182.1 million in general obligation bonds for school modernization and facilities improvement. This project also represents phase one of the modernization of the EUSD. In the next months, there are more improvements coming to Mission Middle School like a new library, and a modernization of the whole school. The improvements are also expected in other schools part of the Escondido Union School District.

“What’s most exciting of the new facility, is creating learning spaces for students to collaborate, so they can interact with each other and for them to work on projects. Students will be able to explore and do some great things in there. It is designed for 21st century learning. Students previously had to work in regular classrooms that were built in the 1940’s, and the technology is so much different now. The students are excited,” said EUSD Superintendent Luis Ibarra to La Prensa San Diego. “This project is very important for the District because we want all of our schools and all of our students to be prepared for 21st century learning.”

The celebratory event was open to the public and included the participation of students, their families, teachers, staff, board members, and donors.

At Mission Middle School there are approximately 900 students, with 80 percent of these being Latino. In total, there are approximately 16,000 students in the EUSD, with 60 percent of these being Hispanic.