Q&A: New eighth grade academy opens at Sequoyah Middle School in Broken Arrow

A new eighth grade academy is opening at Sequoyah Middle School in Broken Arrow just in time for the new school year. The building adds space for students and includes features designed with safety in mind.

Here’s what Mike Leach, Director of Construction Services for Broken Arrow Public Schools, shared about the project.

Q: Why was this new building added at Sequoyah Middle School?

Mike Leach: “So Sequoyah Middle School, before the eighth grade academy was built, was really bursting at the seams. All of our middle schools are, so this is giving a lot of relief, not only to the Sequoyah campus, but like I said, to the other middle schools."

Q: How has the plan evolved?

Mike Leach: “So originally this project was supposed to be middle school number six. We really couldn't afford middle school number six. This is a part of the 2015 bond package, and with the escalation in construction costs since 2015 and especially through COVID, commercial construction costs have escalated approximately 60% since 2015 so we couldn't necessarily afford middle school number six, with building on a bare site, bringing in all the utilities, doing a big production kitchen, all those things cost an awful lot of money. So what could we do that complied with the bond language? So we conceived this idea of having...The building serves a middle school purpose, so it complies with the bond language. It is a separate building. It couldn't be an addition, it couldn't be a renovation of an existing building. It had to be separate. So that's why the two buildings are separated, and then we got enough fire separation to satisfy the fire code. So that's why we have a separate building.”

Q: What safety features are built into the new academy?

Mike Leach: “So when this building was being designed, the Presbyterian school in Tennessee had just been shot up, and so we added a concrete wall so if students were in this wide open commons area, it would give them a place to seek refuge or to take shelter in case there were a bad actor outside.”

The building also includes a storm shelter, a locked entrance with an intercom system, and vandal-resistant glass.

Mike Leach: “Someone has to talk to an AI phone, which is like an industrial Ring doorbell, before they’re allowed into the vestibule… All of the glass in that area is also vandal-resistant… The glass might break, but it won’t fall out, be compromised.”

Q: How did construction impact Sequoyah Middle School last year?

Mike Leach: “The construction site was totally fenced in, and we took away a lot of their green space…”

District leaders say they are grateful for the patience of students and staff during the 18 months of construction.

Q: Will the new building be ready for the first day of school?

Mike Leach: “100%. We will be ready to go come August 13.”