Kay Forrest
The Corsair
Building 11, otherwise known as the PJC Adult High School, is a building much like the others surrounding it: big, brick and stable. However, this particular building is soon to undergo renovations that will make it the most high-tech and “greenest” on campus.
Thanks to a generous donation of $1 million by the Hobbs family, the building has been renamed the Hobbs Center and will be upgraded over the summer.
It comes at a time when the school still suffers from unwarranted stereotypes. PJC students Elena Cox and Alex Johnson both said that the term “adult high” brings to mind high school dropouts.
However, Adult High students Michael Smith, 17, and Adriana Clayton, 17, challenge that stereotype. They are both hard-working high school students who simply transferred to PJC Adult High after several acquaintances praised it for offering a superior education.
Some students who attend Adult High wouldn’t trade their education there for anything.
“I love it here,” Smith said. “I get benefits as if I was an adult, and I like that. This is definitely my top choice in Pensacola.”
Clayton added, “This school is 25 million times better than public school.”
This summer’s renovations will enable the PJC Adult High to reflect the students’ high opinions of the education given there.
Helped by another $1 million from the State of Florida, matching the Hobbs’ donation, the renovations will begin May 11 and tentatively be finished before the fall term begins in August.
Because of the remodeling, the Adult High will only be offering one six-week term this summer, as opposed to its normal two six-week summer terms. In addition, all the classes temporarily will be held in various buildings around campus: chiefly Building 10, which houses the Department of Business.
Tom Leonard, coordinator of secondary education, said the installation of Level One “smart” or technology-driven classrooms will be a key improvement.
He explained that PJC will be adding state-of-the art computers, plasma televisions and projectors to the high school classrooms, as well as organizing the layout of the building in a more modern way.
In addition to high-quality electronics, the Hobbs Center will be installing “green” energy-saving air conditioning/heating and lighting, among other eco-friendly features. “We will be the first truly “green” building on campus,” Leonard boasted.
After the renovation, the Hobbs Center will not solely house the Adult High School. It will be home to a brand-new TEAL (Technology Enhanced Academic Laboratory) computer lab. Leonard said this will be a smaller version of a second TEAL lab that will be added to PJC’s new library. The center’s lab will have 35 new computers, all equipped with interactive software.
Also located in the Hobbs Center will be a teacher observation laboratory. In this room, education majors from UWF and PJC will teach a class to the Adult High students while being observed by their own teachers via a two-way mirror.
The demonstrations will be recorded and then later reviewed by the education students and their teachers, either back at UWF or on the PJC campus. Leonard says this is similar to what a doctor or nurse goes through during his or her residency.
According to Leonard, the teacher observation lab in the Hobbs Center will be the first one in the state.
Building 11 will be the first structure on campus financially capable of this makeover, thanks to the Hobbs’ donation. But “this is an effort that will be done across the campus in all of the buildings eventually,” Leonard said.
With roughly 1,500 students and approximately 300 graduates a year, PJC Adult High is already one of the largest high schools in the Escambia and Santa Rosa areas. After receiving the latest technology and eco-friendly features, it will stand out even more. And Leonard hopes the new image will help to boost enrollment in the coming year.