Aragon is planning to build a new photography studio under the Student Lunchroom in order to improve the visual arts and photography department of the school. The added complex will increase the size of the Student Lunchroom and extend parts of the band room and the gymnasium. The complex will also add a staircase at the entrance near the boys’ locker room for easy access to the second floor.
Aragon submitted its construction plans to the state in Dec. 2015 and hopes to get the plans approved by spring of 2016. If the construction schedule goes as planned without any delays, the construction timeline will begin around June 2016 and will finish by spring 2017. Assistant Principal Ron Berggren explains the main reason why he supported the idea of building a new construction plan for the school. He says, “The new photography studio is a part of an expansion from the Career Technical Education (CTE) program. I believe that it is a necessity to have an art and video room separately from the computer labs that we have. I also believe that it is necessary to have a separate studio used only for announcements. It is an equity issue that we [needed] to resolve.”
Since the new studio would expand the CTE program, the construction funding will come from Career Technical Funds, funding used to further CTE programs. Digital photography, AP Studio Art, and Art of Video teacher Nicholas Carrillo was very excited when he found out that the school was planning to construct a new studio. He says, “The photography class was initially flooded out of their room (Room 315) to a room that is twice as small, which is Room 137. We [needed] a bigger size and space for the class of digital photography and art and video, a bigger storage for equipment, and a studio to conduct video announcements.”
Although the photography classroom is now in room 137, junior Drew Abouata sees how space is an issue in the computer lab. He says, “The current photography studio is very cramped. It is very distracting to hear other people’s videos while concentrating on your own and making edits or additions to it.” Sophomore Benjamin Finberg adds, “Although the computer lab is a good learning place, I believe the new photography studio would be a more exclusive place tailored to only photography students … The studio will hopefully have proper lighting and a nice staging for photography students. The big space [would make it] easier to collaborate and more space would allow groups to get together.”In regards to the planned construction, Berggren says, “The Student Lunchroom would be doubled in terms of size [and] would probably be turned into a video conference center with interactive screens used for more schoolwide or district meetings. The bigger Student Lunchroom would act as a community center, where we would be holding important meetings to discuss over schoolwide issues or problems within the districts.” Senior Aileen Calter hopes the new studio will encourage people to take photography. She says, “People should consider taking photography because photography allows [people] to express themselves … photography has also allowed me to explore my surroundings and pay attention to the smaller things.”
photo of proposed complex plans
