School of Science and Technology Northeast High School

Photo Credit UTSA.edu

Modern schools barely resemble their counterparts of the last century.  As technology has progressed, so has the needs of today’s schools.  And, in a post-Columbine and COVID world, a significant emphasis is placed on security and safety.  But, these aren’t the only changes.  A shift to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) is now a core focus.

Dr. Turgay Korkmaz, professor of computer science at UTSA, founded Riverwalk Education Foundation in 2002.  Dr. Korkmaz observed that students entering college were not fully prepared in areas of math and science.  Through the Riverwalk Education Foundation, Dr. Korkmaz sought to fill these educational  gaps.  The first campus was named, “The School of Science & Technology” and welcomed its first students in the fall of 2005. You can connect with Dr. Korkmaz via his faculty page at UTSA.edu.

Photo Credit AlamoArchitects.com

The firm, Alamo Architects, was selected to design and project manage the School of Science and Technology Northeast High School.  Founded in the early 1980’s as Arrow Architects, the firm changed their name to Alamo Architects in 1984.  Their early work included the move of the Fairmont Hotel in 1985 and design of the outdoor space for the  visit of Pope John Paul II in 1987.  In the decades since, they have worked on numerous K-12 and higher education projects.

Our contact at Alamo Architects was Glenn McGuyre, AIA.  Glenn was outstanding to work with.  As projects move forward, questions arise.  Glenn was always quick to respond, helping us stay on pace.  He also appeared to value our experience, both with SST and the gym environment in general.  We hope to work with Glenn in the future.

Photo Credit Google

Bartlett Cocke General Contractors were selected to build the School of Science and Technology Northeast High School.  This was their second SST campus to build in San Antonio.  The onsite team was headed up by Project Manager; RT Hoog, Superintendent; James “Jimmy” Worswick, and Assistant Superintendent; Derek Foy.  Both Jimmy and Derek had worked on the SST Hill Country project which was completed in 2020.

Though school leadership had hoped to move in during the 2021 Christmas break, move in was pushed to Spring Break 2022.  This was largely due to delays with San Antonio Water Systems issuing permits and water connections.  Indeed, the new campus did not have water until late February 2022.  Derek remained on site leading the project to completion while Jimmy moved on to another project.

Our work at the School of Science and Technology Northeast High School included the gym floor and all of the gym equipment.  We’ve provided these services at all of the new SST campuses in San Antonio.  And, we’ve also provided services at the campuses in Corpus Christi.  On this project we provided the basketball goals, all of the volleyball equipment, wall pads, football/soccer field goal, and doorway entry mats.

The School of Science and Technology Northeast High School chose Sport Court® Response Maple Select gym flooring.  SST has installed this flooring in most of their other Texas campuses and already has contracts for future installations.  Sport Court® is the only floor to provide “Lateral Forgiveness” shock absorption, proven to reduce injuries during play.  Coaches also report that it’s the most comfortable floor to walk around on all day.

The Sport Court® flooring rests on a rubber underlayment.  The rubber provides vertical shock absorption, similar to that of a suspended hardwood floor.  And, it also provides sound dampening, making Sport Court® surfacing quieter than other gym floors.

The durable urethane topcoat comes with a 15 year limited warranty and does NOT require annual urethane rescreening.  This will save the school around $5,000 annually compared to maintaining hardwood flooring.  Indeed, the long term cost savings pays for the floor.  And, Sport Court® gym flooring is the only floor to retain resale value after 20 years of use.

We installed a basketball 6 pack.  The 2 main court goals and the 2 goals above the bleachers were designed to fold forward up to the ceiling.   The 2 wall mounted goals were stationary, as they did not overhang the regular playing surface.  All of the goals had 6’ glass backboards and collegiate double spring break away rims.  And, the 2 main court goals were also outfitted with electric height adjusters.

We enlisted the service of Texas Sports Equipment to assist in installing the goals.  This allowed us to get all 6 goals installed in a single weekend, with just a few hours of work left to do on Monday.  We prefer this schedule, as most construction sites are fairly empty on the weekends.  This eliminates the possibility of anyone being in our way.

We installed wall pads at one end of the gym, covering a span of 32’.  The other end of the gym had an accordion style door that opened to the cafeteria.  So, there were no pads at that end.  The pads were made with green vinyl to match the school’s color scheme.  And, they were printed with the SST logo and the campus Stallion’s icon.

We attached the pads to furring strips rather than to the drywall.  We have seen some installers attach directly to drywall, but these anchors always fail over time.  The 1×3 furring strips were attached to the wall studs and then the wall pads attached to the furring strips.  This makes for a sturdy and secure connection, requiring a screw driver or drill to remove the screws.

We provided 2 complete volleyball systems, a storage cart, referee stand with safety pads, and a double net storage cart.  We also installed the volleyball sleeves for the main court as well as the 2 cross courts.

The volleyball systems were model 7200 which have telescoping aluminum posts and worm drive net tensioning.  They also feature spring assist height adjustment to easily raise and lower the net.  And, once net height is set, it is easily locked in position with a cam lock.  This eliminates the need to line up holes for insertion of a clevis pin.

We provided an entry mat at one of the main doorways coming into the gym.  Entry mats help catch dust and debris which is abrasive and damaging to flooring.  They also help reduce the amount of water being tracked into the building on rainy days.  Preventing dust and water helps extend the life of the floor and also reduces the risk of slips and falls.

The mat we provided has a heavy duty 52oz poly berber carpet with composite rubber backing.  The mat is inlaid with the SST logo and is surrounded by a rubber ramp that is back stitched to the carpet.  The berber is available in over 40 colors and nearly unlimited custom sizes.  It’s also available with a slightly lighter duty 37oz weight.

We’re currently working with SST to get an assortment of custom sized mats for all of the doors throughout the campus.

If you’d like to learn more about The School of Science and Technology, please visit their website or one of their numerous social media pages.

To learn more about Sport Court® gym flooring or to get our expert assistance laying out your gym, please contact South Texas Sport Court.