Whether the students realize it or not, the overall design of Advanced Technologies Academy has so much history that is extremely fascinating. To begin, the majority of the building was not even there when A-TECH first opened. The school was made for a small group of students and strictly focused on academics only. The students of A-TECH are all very motivated and come to school ready to learn more and more each day. A-TECH does a great job in making sure that the students continue to have the mindset that will guarantee them success. One of the main problems, however, is, while we excel in academics, we really lack in the amount of physical activity that teenagers need in order to live a healthy lifestyle. A-TECH is one of the few schools without any sports teams or programs. If a student wants to play a sport for school, they leave school early and go play for their zoned school. Clark County in general only requires PE for freshmen and sophomores, leaving juniors and seniors (assuming they are not involved in any outside sports) without any form of exercise. For the majority of A-TECH students, PE was the only time that they had the chance, or even the time, to get any exercise at all. Even during PE, though, the classes do not push the kids enough to truly become healthy. It is hard to blame the teachers, though. Since the gym was added to fit a small amount of kids, there are often circumstances where the gym is just not fit to conduct legitimate physical activity.
My plan in redesigning the gym is to demolish it and start over completely. The fact of the matter is that people need motivation and inspiration in order to even want to become healthy. Our existing gym is, to be blunt, extremely ugly and very unappealing. People, in general, tend to join gyms that look nice, inside and out, because it gives off a very positive vibe that makes one actually WANT to exercise. With the gym we have now, it is not a surprise that most students only go there because we have to. By recreating it, I will hopefully be able to give it a look so that when you see it from the outside, it is inviting; and once you go in, it is motivating. Considering the population of A-TECH has so much as doubled since when it first opened up, the first thing to consider is that the gym needs to be much bigger. The gym is not only used for PE, but also for other activities such as school assemblies, concerts, and club-organized activities such as dodge ball games. As of now, the gym is always extremely packed and hectic and that tends to cause a lot of people stress. It needs to be big enough so that people can actually breathe when in there. I am planning to expanding the size as well as adding a second story. The weight room that is currently there is going to be completely redesigned as well. It is way too small and the only windows in there are glass squares that pretty much blind you in the morning. There are absolutely no windows in the gym and that needs to change as well. I personally believe that natural lighting is extremely important. Dark areas tend to make people lazy and make them feel much more negative. One thing that does not make sense whatsoever is that the tennis and volleyball courts are across the field from the gym. They need to have a connection, or at least a path leading to it.
The locker rooms in the current gym are RIDICULOUSLY small. People actually need to leave and change somewhere else because there is absolutely no room at all. The showers are also equally ridiculous. It is very unsanitary and there is no form of “modesty.” The showers don’t have doors or curtains or anything that would save one from flashing everyone. It is so bad that we are not allowed to use them. However, the shower room is much larger than it needs to be. If we are not allowed to use them then that room should be much smaller in order to give more room for the lockers. The locker rooms should be big enough so that the freshman boys do not need to use one of the portables as a locker room. I am hoping that the gym I create will have a completely new look and vibe that will fit the needs of all the events that take place, and most importantly, cause students to actually want to go there in order to become fit and get healthy.