March 21, 2011 – Keeping up with the rapid pace of advancing technology has been a pervasive theme throughout academic communities over the past few years and is nothing new to Turning Point School. Throughout the last decade Turning Point School has seen the expansion of its middle school program, relocated to its current location, and erected a state-of-the-art facility to accommodate its growing population. The school has proven its ability to answer the needs of its community and is prepared today to meet the growing demand for 21st Century Learning.

Over the winter, Turning Point School partnered with Creative Learning Systems to install the SmartLab, an interdisciplinary, project-based, student-driven learning environment. Students work collaboratively with the aid of a cross-platform computer laboratory that incorporates both the Apple and Windows operating systems. The curriculum emphasizes eight disciplines that include multimedia and publishing, computer graphics, science and data acquisition, robotics and control technology, mechanics and structures, alternative and renewable energy, circuitry, and computer simulation. The open-ended and hands-on nature of the lab, as well as the variety of course work offered, intrinsically motivates students to achieve by accepting difficult tasks.

The classroom introduces professional technology and resources that provide first-hand experiences and reinforce what is being taught in the classroom. Students synthesize information as authentic integration occurs across a range of subjects. Most importantly, the SmartLab promotes crucial problem-solving and critical-thinking skills while instilling teamwork and cooperation among students. These skills are imperative as educators prepare students for challenges that cannot be predicted. Students are also responsible for the documentation and presentation of their work in an attempt to highlight the scientific process while modeling self-direction and time management.

Turning Point’s ability to adapt has allowed the school to maintain its mission to provide an environment of structure and freedom while priming students for participation in an increasingly complex global community. The addition of the SmartLab ensures that Turning Point is well prepared to nurture students that are confident to accept challenges, ask profound questions, and proceed with calculated risks. As society is continuously presented with unforeseen obstacles, it is imperative that the educational community promotes multiple measures of mastery and emphasizes deep conceptual knowledge rather than shallow comprehension. Turning Point School is proud to lead the charge in 21st century education and inspire its students to embrace the inherent challenges of making meaningful contributions in an ever-changing world. 

 

October 7, 2010 -- On the afternoon of August 29, Turning Point School in Culver City dedicated 50,000 square feet of innovative instructional building and an acre of new outdoor space. Architect Arnie Levitt of the Levitt Group had transformed the cavernous potential in the 8794 building into a green, state-of-the-art teaching space.

 

More than 400 current and past parents, faculty and staff, and alumni were on hand to tour the building.  Located on the site of the former Hal Roach Studios, 8780 and 8794 National Boulevard have been conjoined to create one campus.  Throughout the building, individual works of art extend the aesthetic of the architecture, including an exhibit by the school's first artist-in-residence, Robin Palanker.    

 

The new space serves the entire school community, adding seven more classrooms, three language labs, two additional art studios, two art galleries, a multi-media center, a multipurpose theatre, an outdoor environmental classroom and a “green” playing field.   This expansion project more than doubles the square footage of the school's current facilities.  Formerly, there were 132 square feet per student.  Today that number is 229 square feet per student. There are rooms to specifically support music, dance and vocal training and to provide Middle School students with their own spaces to gather, study and eat lunch.   The new Multi-Media Center is designed for multi-subject, cross-curricular projects, using a variety of media—such as computer-aided design, computer graphics and animation, digital music, video production and web applications.  To allow for twenty-first century curriculum, the Instructional Support Center provides a flexible place for instruction, where special projects and student-directed exploration of technology will be the modus operandi.

 

At the heart of the new academic building is a magnificent 400 seat multi-purpose theater.  Faculty and students now have the opportunity to mount productions with more advanced technical demands.  The new theater serves as a teaching laboratory for students who want to explore lighting, sound and projection.  At other times the theater will be used as a screening room for documentaries, movies and multi-media presentations created by Turning Point School students, as well as for graduation and prospective parent events.

 

In addition to the new academic building, students have a new 90 feet by 170 feet all-weather field that will provide expanded opportunity across class levels for outdoor activity.  The field can be configured for a variety of sports, such as a practice soccer or football field or an outdoor volleyball court.

 

The new academic building is an environmental laboratory, incorporating “green” elements wherever possible.  Solar panels, for example, provide the exterior lighting for the new facilities.  Plants located strategically throughout the building help to purify the air and generate a fresh supply of oxygen.  Occupancy sensors turn on and off the lights when students walk through the building.  Display boards educate students about energy use and the utilization of recycled products in the completion of the facility.  According to Deborah Richman, Head of School, "We asked our architect to design our new facilities with a goal to save the resources that many of us take for granted.  Building on our already strong environmental education program, our Turning Point students will gain an even stronger understanding that they have responsibility for the future."

 

Founded in 1970, Turning Point School enrolls approximately 380 girls and boys from diverse backgrounds as day students in Primary (2 years, 10 months) through Level 8.