About Knox County Head Start – Anderson Campus
Head Start is a federal program that promotes the school readiness of children ages birth to 5 from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Head Start programs provide a learning environment that supports children’s growth in language and literacy, cognition and general knowledge, physical development and health, social and emotional development, and approaches to learning. In addition to promoting school readiness skills, Head Start fosters good health through well-child checks and dental exams, current immunizations, nutrition, and lead risk assessments.
Knox County Head Start provides a comprehensive preschool program for low-income children and their families in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area, where the Knox County Head Start – Anderson Campus preschool facility is located on Prospect Road. Parental involvement is huge at Knox County Head Start, and parents have many opportunities to participate in their child’s education and development. Social services, mental health and disability services, and transportation are just a few of the support services available to families.
Problem: Long Overdue for an Upgrade
While Anderson Head Start was providing a great service to the children and families of Knox County, they were in need of a major facility energy improvement upgrade. They needed 111 windows replaced for increased security and to meet fire codes, and they needed various other facility efficiency improvements. The biggest challenge facing Anderson Head Start in Knox County was historic preservation. They wanted to upgrade their facility significantly while still maintaining the historic value and look of the building.
Solution: a Unique Approach for a Unique Organization
A strong emphasis was placed on project costs for this particular project. Skilled Services worked closely with the operations director and the Department of Education to provide designs and proposals for all elements needed to complete the installation in a cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing way.
Skilled Services ended up designing a solution to preserve as much of the trim and masonry/precast as possible and restore areas that were deteriorating. The windows would be carefully removed to preserve any existing masonry and precast. Then new windows would be installed to the rigorous standards of historic preservation at the request of the operations director.
Innovative materials were also included in design and installation to address International Building Code® (IBC) fire codes for school facilities. These materials helped Knox County Head Start meet public health and safety goals while still preserving the historic look of their building. Lastly, we restored deteriorated areas to their original state. Our installers were careful to repair wear and tear while still preserving as much of the original structure of the building as possible.
Result: Challenge Complete; School Is Happier
Knox County Head Start – Anderson Campus achieved the desired results at the most favorable price for the facility upgrade. The project was completed while accommodating school hours and keeping child safety in mind. Knox County Head Start now has beautiful new windows that contribute to the energy efficiency of the building. They meet the standard of fire codes for schools, and the children have a more secure facility where they can learn.