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Olson Middle School

Overview

Olson Middle is a Community School built in 1962. Olson Middle does have air conditioning in the building and does not have its own kitchen. The building does have a Safe and Welcoming Entrance, as defined by Capital Planning, Construction, and Maintenance. The building is 114,959 square feet in size and has a design enrollment of approximately 640 students.

Between school years 2014 and 2023, Minneapolis Public Schools has invested $9,787,758 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.

Olson Middle had an enrollment of 333 students as of 01 October, 2024, with approximately 82.3% 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 52% of the building’s designed enrollment, making the current building use underutilized [‘underutilized’ is defined as enrollment totalling less than 70% of the design enrollment].

Olson Middle map

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 Olson 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

16

Classroom

Multipurpose Room

1

Classroom

Special Ed Resource Room

3

Classroom

Special Ed Self Contained Room

1

Lab - Art

Lab - Art

1

Lab - Computer

Classroom

2

Lab - Computer

Special Ed Resource Room

1

Lab - Computer

Special Ed Self Contained Room

1

Lab - Science

Lab - Science

3

Lab - Science

Special Ed Resource Room

1

Other

Lab - Art

1

Table 1. Classroom and instructional spaces 

Building Layout

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

Olson floorplan
Olson floorplan 2
Olson floorplan 3

Figure 1. Floorplan for Olson Middle, floorplan pages 1 through 3

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.

Overall Discussion Themes

  • New flexible lighting and sensory space

  • Separation of spaces helps preserve learning environment

  • Updated restroom for special education is a great addition

  • Excellent pool space for special education programming

  • Building has significant accessibility challenges

Survey Results

Fourteen questions were asked of walkthrough participants at the end of the walkthrough. There were 11 respondents to the survey at Olson 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

Survey Question Results: Olson

Plot 1. Survey results for Olson Middle