Harvest Intermediate School Project Gives district additional capacity, options

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The DeForest Area School District was recently faced with a “good” kind of problem: How to respond to enrollment growth.

The district ultimately chose to build a new intermediate school for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. Construction on the new Harvest Intermediate School began in May 2020 and was completed in August 2021.

J.H. Findorff & Son served as the general contractor on the project.

The 205,000-square-foot school was made possible by a 2019 referendum for districtwide improvements. The $46.3 million projects includes a multipurpose cafeteria with a full kitchen, a library-media center, a gymnasium, a secured main entrance, collaborative environments for modern learning and classrooms.

The school is on rural farmland, adjacent to a creek, and complements the surrounding landscape to provide more outdoor learning opportunities for students. The modern design of wood and steel exteriors leads into the interior space of the school. The color palette is subtle, pulling from the natural surroundings.

The interior entrance is spacious with high ceilings and skylights, providing ample natural light. Within the main cafeteria of the building is the social stair, which can be used for events or as a larger classroom with a projector and speakers.

Each grade is separated into “communities” consisting of classrooms, locker areas, bathrooms and learning spaces for students to collaborate or work alone. Additional learning spaces are spread out throughout the entire school.

“The school has a lot of space to offer for public events in their commons space with multiple projectors as well as a large three-bay gym that is expected to be rented out for many events and local leagues,” said Matt Claggett, project manager for Findorff.

“The new Intermediate School provides additional capacity and flexibility for the district as it continues to grow. The community is very proud of this new award-winning facility.”