Richardson Center Transformation Built With Lots of Love

From learning to use a sink independently to recognizing letters and colors throughout campus, everyday moments can now become learning opportunities for Richardson Center’s youngest students.

An approximately three-year modernization has transformed the campus with those students in mind, creating classrooms and common spaces designed around the developmental and accessibility needs of preschoolers.

That focus shaped not only the finished campus, but how the work was completed.

The original plan called for moving classrooms into temporary modular buildings in the parking lot, which could have allowed the project to be completed in about a year. But that approach would have created accessibility challenges and disrupted students’ daily routines.

Instead, the KCSOS team chose a longer construction timeline that allowed students to remain in spaces equipped to meet their needs.

“The needs of the students are different here than they are anywhere else,” said Justin Thompson, Executive Director of Special Education. “Without having access to the restroom facilities and the equipment that we have for the students, it really impacts what they do on a day-to-day basis.”

That emphasis on designing around students’ individual needs has been part of Richardson Center since its earliest days.

Named for former Kern County Superintendent of Schools Claude W. Richardson, the center opened in 1986 with a vision of bringing preschool children with and without disabilities together on the same campus. At the time, Richardson Center leaders hoped the approach would serve as a model for inclusive early childhood education.

“When we talk about mainstreaming, we are speaking of both handicapped and non-handicapped,” then-Principal Maggie Johnson said at the time. “We are talking about the least restrictive environment, and we are talking about getting kids to socialize with one another. It benefits all children.”

From construction to completion, the Claude W. Richardson Child Development Center underwent a major transformation, including new additions and a welcoming, modernized entrance designed with its youngest learners in mind.

Forty years later, Richardson Center continues to provide preschool services to children with special needs, along with full-day child development services for children from families who meet program eligibility requirements. Since 1986, the center has served students with special needs from more than 40 school districts and serves more than 200 children on average, the majority of whom receive special education services.

The modernization presented an opportunity to reshape the physical campus around that longstanding mission.

Rather than adapting a traditional K-12 school design for younger students, Thompson said the team approached the project with preschoolers in mind from the beginning.

“The most important part of what we did was we looked at it from the preschool and modernized or designed everything around the age group,” he said.

George Carson, recently retired KCSOS Manager of Facilities, said the team kept classroom wings open and moved students between classrooms as construction progressed.

The modernization brought extensive changes to the campus. Classrooms were redesigned to create more space and outfitted with new furniture and technology, including smart TVs. Crews removed ceilings, walls and windows before rebuilding the interiors. Windows were raised significantly to reduce outside distractions and help students focus on classroom instruction.

Accessibility was also incorporated into the design. In the multipurpose room, a broken lift beside the stage was removed and replaced with a permanent ramp, an improvement advocated for by former principal Angie Bertrand Harris.

“Like that ramp, that is a big way of now making sure that not only is it in compliance, but it’s actually a part of the structure with intention,” Carson said.

Other changes were designed to turn the campus itself into an extension of the classroom.

Thompson said the exterior was painted to give students more opportunities to apply what they learn inside to their surroundings. Students learning letters and colors, for example, can continue practicing those skills as they move throughout campus, giving staff additional opportunities to reinforce lessons and build language.

Even details as simple as the height of a sink were considered. The updated classrooms include a standard-height sink alongside a lower one that students can use independently. Carson said features like those support an important part of preschool education: developing life skills.

“They’re trying to teach the kids how to use utensils, how to use water, how to use soap dispensers and how to use a paper towel holder,” Carson said. “All of those things. It’s really important.”

Completing the work in stages also required flexibility from staff, who continued supporting students as construction moved across the campus. Thompson credited employees for their patience and willingness to repeatedly pack, move and adjust throughout the approximately three-year process.

He also credited the KCSOS Facilities team with carrying the focus on preschool students through the larger structural improvements and into the smallest design choices.

“I think facilities did a great job just picking colors and textures and finishes,” Thompson said. “I’m really grateful and thankful that we have people that think of polka dot countertops and some of those things that just make it so much brighter and more fun!”

Modern furniture, new technology and raised windows are among the classroom upgrades designed to create engaging learning spaces while reducing outside distractions. Playful details, including polka dot countertops, add color and personality to classrooms designed specifically with Richardson Center’s preschool students in mind.