Photos: A look inside Atlanta's Drew Charter School

Education

A look inside Atlanta's Drew Charter School

Photos: A look inside Atlanta's Drew Charter School

The main stairs in the Charles R. Drew Charter School Junior and Senior Academy at the Charlie Yates campus feature "touchdown steps" that can be used for impromptu conferences or as student work areas. The wood is recycled from the trees that were cut down in the construction of the school.

The front entrance of the Charles R Drew Charter School.

Students work in a biology lab. The $55 million school is Gold LEED certified, features solar panels for electricity, a football/soccer field and track and has a 500-seat auditorium among other amenities.

Drew Charter sudents use lockers as they make their way between classes. The school was built on the former back nine holes of the Charlie Yates Golf Course in the East Lake Village area.

The 500-seat auditorium features light booms that descend from the ceiling, eliminating the need for overhead catwalks.

An outdoor amphitheatre space is seen from the 4th floor.

Students, inspired by Alvin Ailey posters, practice in the dance studio.

The Charles R. Drew Charter School classroom building is at left and the gym building is on the right.

The main gym can seat 1,000 on the bleachers and 1,800 with chairs on the floor and will likely be used for the first graduating class.

Dr. Candace Spearman directs students Kinnedy Bowers (from left), Quay Manuel, Amber Donerlson and Tamia Ross during an exercise in weight measurement Thursday.

A view of the main entrance from the 4th floor. The vanes at right center block some of the incoming sunlight to make cooling the building easier.

A common area on the second floor of the school. The Charles R Drew Charter School Junior and Senior Academy at the Charlie Yates campus is shown Thursday, August 7, 2014. The school, which opened for the school year, July 29, houses approximately 450 students in grades 6-10 currently and plans are to add 11th and 12th grades in the next two years.

Classrooms have glass on both sides.

Students make their way to and from classes.

There are several water bottle filling stations around the building. They feature a counter which tells students how many bottles have been filled.

An open classroom design allows for co-teaching of two classes in some areas.

Solar panels atop the auditorium building provide 10 percent of the school's electric energy.

Lockers, once located in long hallways, have been moved to open up additional work spaces for teachers and students.

The cafeteria area can also be used by neighborhood groups as meeting space and features two overhead projection systems.

The media center area features portraits of the school's namesake, Dr. Charles R. Drew.

The track and football field at Drew Charter School.

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The main stairs in the Charles R. Drew Charter School Junior and Senior Academy at the Charlie Yates campus feature "touchdown steps" that can be used for impromptu conferences or as student work areas. The wood is recycled from the trees that were cut down in the construction of the school.

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