New high school poised to open in Licking (Ohio) district

A 250,000-square-foot high school is near completion in the Southwest Licking (Ohio) district.

Watkins Memorial High School in Pataskala, Ohio., will serve 1,200 students and has been designed for 1,600 in case of growth, reports Newark Advocate. 

The school has:

• Two long, two-story, parallel corridors of classrooms with removable glass windows so the academic wings can be expanded eastward if enrollment demands.
• A spacious common area that helps separate departments. The athletic department is on one side and arts and performance are  on another.
• An 800-seat theater with a deeply recessed orchestra pit. 
• Energy-efficient lighting that will automatically turn on and off as staff and students move from room to room. 

The former high school building is being converted to a middle school.