EASTON, Pa. — Easton Area School District’s plan for a new high school is beginning to take shape, with developers aiming to bring the project to completion by 2031.
Representatives from Alloy 5 Architects offered the school board and community an update on the trek toward a new high school during this week's board meeting.
It presented information gathered from tours of other recently constructed schools and recommendations for the Easton project.
Alloy 5 Principal Architect Randy Galiotto, along with Senior Designer Bill Deegan and CHA Consulting Project Manager Andrew Mather, offered the board a look at progress in the long-term project, which aims to be completed by the 2031-32 school year.
Galiotto characterized that as a “relatively aggressive schedule, given the size of this project and the magnitude of things.”
According to Galiotto, Alloy 5 will present a site option overview and recommendations in January, with the expectation to start schematic designs in March.
The start of design development is currently set for August, with an Act 34 hearing in January 2026.
Construction drawings should commence in March 2026, followed by the bid process in December 2026, and the awarding of contracts in February 2027.
The groundbreaking schedule is tentatively set for May 2027, with an expectation to reach “substantial completion for new construction” in July 2030, and ultimately wrapping up in July 2031.
Key elements for present, future
Deegan expanded on the educational specifications for the project, which are based on the district's current and future needs and the spaces and infrastructure needed to accommodate those visions.
That could include options such as maker spaces — both “clean” and “dirty” sections, the latter of which serve as a space for projects that create noise and debris — and team rooms for small group activities.
“The idea is that we capture the size and the quantities of room types to be built. So classrooms, maker spaces, English classrooms, that's different from physics classrooms, that type of thing."Alloy 5 Principal Architect Senior Designer Bill Deegan
From there, Alloy 5 developed a “program of spaces,” Deegan said.
“The idea is that we capture the size and the quantities of room types to be built," he said. "So classrooms, maker spaces, English classrooms, that's different from physics classrooms, that type of thing."
Some of the guiding principles for the project include using common spaces as a “hub” for students to gather, learn and collaborate, serving as a sort of “heart of the school.”
Other elements include flexibility in educational spaces to adapt to modern learning environments; an equity in academics, athletics and art programming; and transforming administration centers into more welcoming spaces for students.
Inspiration, sizing
Deegan showcased several modern schools the firm toured recently — including Dallas High School and Wilkes-Barre Area High School, both in Luzerne County; Interboro High School in Delaware County; and Upper Merion Area High School in Montgomery County — and key takeaways from each visit.
Key features for the modern schools include an emphasis on an abundance of natural light, communal spaces, integrated ADA features in most spaces, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) features such as clean and dirty maker spaces, administration spaces with a welcoming feel, and adaptable learning spaces.
Land near the existing high school was found to “have strong topography on this site; it can change up to 20 and 30 feet in different levels, and that can be used to our advantage in making this building.”Alloy 5 Principal Architect Senior Designer Bill Deegan
In addition to evaluating those aspects, the team also compared square footage and student total, looking to find a “sweet spot” for Easton’s new high school.
Considering an average of 3,020 students, the existing school’s 377,728 square feet equates to 125 square feet per student; the new school would increase that to 535,283 square feet with 178 square feet per student.
Deegan said one of the major tasks this past summer was to conduct a site survey of the grounds near the existing high school.
He said it found “we have strong topography on this site; it can change up to 20 and 30 feet in different levels, and that can be used to our advantage in making this building.”
Beyond that, a traffic survey is set for the near future with the state Transportation Department and township officials to “introduce all the players.”
Potential sites, public participation
Lastly, Deegan offered up a schematic showing potential locations for the school on the existing site. While a location will not be selected until January or February, Deegan offered a few notes on the current options.
“Number one, we've already shown you the location for that in our original study. It affects the baseball field in the corner," Deegan said.
"Number two is right in the middle of the site, where the track is, and that's an exciting location. Of course, it affects the track, similar to what happened at Upper Merion.
"Number Three affects some of the playing field, again, very similar to what happened.
"And so in the next month or so, and throughout that course of several months, we'll be having a little community forums and focus groups within our schools and at our schools for the community come out… to participate in. Because your feedback on this and many other topics in the district will be critical."Easton Area Schools Superintendent Tracy Piazza
“And you can see how the locations relate differently to the surrounding site. So that's something we're working on with our traffic studies to understand which location works best within the surrounding community, and we're excited to go through that process.”
While the process for the project has quite a bit of time to go, and much to be decided, Superintendent Tracy Piazza stressed that engagement with community throughout the work would be an absolute necessity.
“While we have started our ed specs and started that preliminary conversation where we think the building should land at the end, it's important for us to get our students’, our staff’s, our community’s, our parents’ feedback on this project as well," Piazza said.
"And so in the next month or so, and throughout that course of several months, we'll be having a little community forums and focus groups within our schools and at our schools for the community come out… to participate in.
"Because your feedback on this and many other topics in the district will be critical."
