Credit to File Photo

Construction crews work to build the new school at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. Construction on the building started in 2021.

As the doors of the new FHN building are set to open this upcoming school year, both students and faculty members will experience many new upgrades, from bigger classrooms to new club areas and new technology. 

Technology-wise, there are many options on whether technology from the current building can be used in the new building’s classrooms, or if it’s better to upgrade them. There is a mix of both new and old technology in the current building, ranging from computers and iPads to projectors and TVs. For example, many students in the learning commons use the school’s technology for assignments.

“[We see a lot of students] deal with computers, both desktops and Chromebooks,” Tara Willen, a media specialist in FHN’s learning commons said. “Occasionally, we’ll have iPads that kids are using to record. Mostly, they’re using their phones.”

The decision as to what technology stays in the current building and the new one is left to the head district officials.

“Those were district-level decisions, not even principals. I mean, they were part of the conversation, but that mostly came from the technology department at the central district office,” Willen said.

It may be a surprise to many because it is expected that school faculty would have a say in what technology stays in the old building or moves to the new building. While they don’t know much information about the move or any control, they do know a small amount.

“The only thing I know about what’s new [to the school] has to do with the way that information is projected,” Willen said. “So, for example, in some of our classroom areas, we have screens, and then we have mobile projectors that we push around. [That] is all being replaced with some type of digital screen that you can send data from your laptop to.”

In addition, the school will likely have better, newer, and more efficient projectors in the classrooms than in previous years. Currently, some classrooms have old projectors that project dimly, and only some classrooms have upgraded projectors, which will likely be moved to the new school. Besides projectors, most technology in the building will be replaced when the school transitions to the new building.

“I still need to get clarification,” Willen said. “I don’t know if we will need to bring our projectors on carts. I expect that those can go, but I’m not 100 percent sure yet. [This] would then also include portable screens. [For example], you could put a screen up in the gym.”