Since 1989, the district has moved forward with renovations and new construction in every corner of this fast-growing community in southwestern Washington. That metaphor rings true at Vancouver's Discovery Middle School, a school that practically sings. The facility was showcased at the National Symposium on School Design hosted by the U.S. Department of Education in 1998 and has been visited by a steady parade of dignitaries, including former Secretary of Education Richard Riley and Senator Bill Bradley. Discovery has won a host of awards since its completion in 1995, including the Learning by Design Grand Award bestowed by the National School Boards Association, the James D. MacConnell Award from the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, and the prestigious Shirley Cooper Award presented by the American Association of School Administrators and the American Institute of Architects. Although Discovery Middle School backs up to busy Interstate 5 near central Vancouver, the campus feels like a neighborhood park.
Mature trees form an evergreen curtain where the property dips toward the freeway.
Inside, the school is packed with three floors of unique features that enhance the learning process while also serving the needs of the larger community. While visitors rave about the school's inviting physical space, they are often equally impressed to learn about the planning process that went into creating it. They were out front with design that takes good educational ideas and helps them go even further. When planning for Discovery Middle School began in the early 1990s, lead architect John Wyckoff of LSW Architects brought what could best be called a fresh perspective to the design table. Wyckoff translated that research into practice when he designed a three-story building to fit onto a sloping lot.