Beulah Ralph Elementary School, Columbia’s 21st elementary school, was developed to address overcrowding at other schools, such as Mill Creek Elementary School, eliminating the need for trailer classrooms and reducing class sizes. Named for Beulah Ralph, a Columbia educator for 58 years, the school is located off Scott Boulevard on the southwest side of Columbia. This is the second school to use the prototype developed for Battle Elementary School.

The school’s groundbreaking was in October of 2014, and construction was completed in July 2016 at a construction cost of $16 million.

As lead architect for the project, PWA worked with ACI Boland and Columbia Public Schools throughout the design process. The process, which began in 2012, included programming, work sessions, spatial relationship diagrams, and schematic design through Construction Administration.

Facility Highlights:

• Accommodates 450 students
• A studio classroom with a one-way mirror for teachers in training to watch a “master teacher” at work.
• Classrooms are furnished with temperature-controlled computer storage cupboards for student laptops and iPads.
• An energy-efficient heating/cooling system
• Classroom lighting operated by sensors
• Parking, playgrounds, stormwater facilities, and a commercial kitchen.