Anthony Middle School

Overview

Anthony Middle is a Community School built in 1957. Anthony Middle does not have air conditioning in the building and does have its own kitchen. The building does have a Safe and Welcoming Entrance, as defined by Capital Planning, Construction, and Maintenance. The building is 143,158 square feet in size and has a design enrollment of approximately 931 students.

Between school years 2014 and 2023, Minneapolis Public Schools has invested $8,589,614 in capital expenditures for the building. In 2017, a facilities condition assessment classified the building as being in good condition. The Operations Division will be conducting another facilities condition assessment in calendar year 2025.

Anthony Middle had an enrollment of 731 students as of 01 October, 2024, with approximately 27.2% of those students qualifying for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch benefits. Note that families are still submitting Applications for Educational Benefits, so this proportion may change over the course of the school year. Total enrollment is approximately 79% of the building’s designed enrollment, making the current building use efficient [‘efficient’ is defined as enrollment totalling between 70% and 90% of the design enrollment].

Building Use

At direction of the Board of Education, in October 2024 district staff performed a physical space study of all District schools. This included a walkthrough of the buildings that included many different stakeholders – Board directors, principals, teachers, central office staff, custodians, and others. The tables, figures, and plots below are a summary of data collected during the walkthrough of Anthony Middle.

Classroom Spaces

See Table 1 below for how classrooms and labs are being used in the building.

Plan Use	Actual Use	N Rooms
Classroom	Classroom	19
Classroom	Gallery	1
Classroom	Kitchen	1
Classroom	Lab - Art	1
Classroom	Lab - Science	5
Classroom	Lab - Vocational	1
Classroom	Multipurpose Room	1
Classroom	Music Room	1
Classroom	Not in Use	1
Classroom	Office - Private	1
Classroom	Physical Education	1
Classroom	SEL Space / Calming Room	3
Classroom	Special Ed Resource Room	2
Classroom	Special Ed Self Contained Room	1
Classroom	Student Support Spaces	1
Lab - Computer	Classroom	1
Lab - Computer	Lab - Art	1
Lab - Computer	Lab - Vocational	1
Lab - Computer	Special Ed Resource Room	1
Office - Private	Lab - Art	1

Table 1. Classroom and instructional spaces

Building Layout

The below figure[s] are building floorplans as annotated by building staff.

Figure 1. Floorplan for Anthony Middle, floorplan pages 1 through 5

Guided Discussion

A guided discussion consisting of three questions was held with those who participated in the walkthrough. The major themes are included below, as are more detailed summaries of walkthrough participants’ answers.

Question 1: In what ways does the physical environment in this building best support learning?

Anthony Middle School is a beautiful, well-maintained facility with abundant sunlight and views of nature from most areas of the building. The current enrollment allows every full-time teacher to have their own classroom. The availability of classrooms also allows for resource rooms and other intervention spaces to be located near the grade level classrooms they support. Classrooms are large with high-quality casework and plenty of space for flexible activities. The building also has a courtyard that students enjoy for easy access to outdoor learning and play space.

Question 2: In what way does the physical environment in this building interfere with how we would like learning to happen today and in the future?

Some challenges of the physical space at Anthony Middle School include a split building and a lack of air conditioning. The “B” building has fewer programs housed in it, and therefore fewer adults assigned to the area to maintain supervision. The building is nearing 70 years old and lacks a central air conditioning system in either building section, which means that in warmer months some classrooms can become very hot and humid. The older building also means that the number of power outlets does not match the current needs of technology use in classrooms. Finally, there is a need for a larger gymnasium and additional spaces for students to be active.

Question 3: What should the district know or appreciate about the physical environment of this building?

Overall Discussion Themes

Excellent classroom and space availability
Great natural light
Large classrooms
No central air conditioning
Lacks sufficient gender-neutral facilities

Survey Results

Fourteen questions were asked of walkthrough participants at the end of the walkthrough. There were 8 respondents to the survey at Anthony Middle. The questions the participants were asked are included in Table 2 below, and the response breakdowns are included in Plot 1 below.

Question	Question Short	Question Text
1	welcoming main entry	The main entry is welcoming and able to be used by all students and visitors.
2	physical space design supports program	Generally, the design of the learning spaces in the building supports the way we teach and learn (e.g. classrooms are large enough to fit student desks, small group work space, etc.; there is storage for necessary curriculum, tools, manipulatives; all students can hear when the teacher is talking).
3	enough classrooms	The building has enough classrooms to support the number of students enrolled in the program.
4	entire student body can meet together	The school has a space large enough for the entire student body to be together.
5	adequate academic intervention space	The school has sufficient pull-out space to support instructional needs.
6	adequate regulation space	The school has sufficient pull-out space to respond to student behaviors.
7	adequate SPED space	There are sufficient spaces to meet the needs of the school’s Special Education programming.
8	mental health space	There are sufficient spaces to meet the mental health needs of students.
9	adequate lunch room	The cafeteria can accommodate the entire student body in three lunch services.
10	gyms large enough	The gyms are large enough to meet the needs of the program.
11	enough admin space	There is enough administrative space to meet the needs of the program.
12	functional outdoor space	The outdoor environment provides space for both learning and play.
13	adequate restrooms	The restrooms in the building meet the needs of the student body in terms of location, quantity, and inclusion.
14	building feels bright and welcoming	The building feels bright, welcoming, and efficient.

Table 2. Survey questions

Plot 1. Survey results for Anthony Middle

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