About Thea Bowman Leadership Academy

The Thea Bowman Leadership Academy is a charter school serving the Northwestern corner of Indiana.  The school was founded on the belief that "educated citizens emerge as the true leaders of a community."  The school offers a full Kindergarten through 12th grade educational program that stresses academic excellence, leadership qualities and good citizenship.

Their Problem

As enrollment grew and student waiting lists increased, it became apparent that the school needed to expand its offerings to provide a full K through 12 curriculum.  This expansion of their academic program would require new facilities to accomodate the increased student population.  The site for the building lay in an industrial area bordered by a Dune & Swale Protected Area & Protected Wetlands.  In addition, noise pollution from a nearby airport, rail lines and highway traffic could be disruptive to the students.  Furthermore, the project was cost-sensitive and needed to be completed on an accelerated timeline; open and ready for the fall semester.

Our Solution

Innovative Modular Solutions chose to partner with Whitley Manufacturing to construct the modular portions of the building.  They acted as general contractor and managed the combination of pre-fabricated and site-built elements.  The building was designed with two-story, separate classroom areas for the junior high and high school. To control costs, the school wanted to share office space and common areas, while keeping the age groups separate.  A single-story corridor connects the two classroom sections and contains administrative offices and common areas.  The exterior of the building is composed of a split-face block masonry that insulated the classrooms from outside noise pollution.  The school boasts non-combustible construction and a full fire-suppression system.  A cementious sub-floor was cast in place once the modules were assembled, providing a firm and solid surface underfoot.  In all, the school features a multi-media center, full-sized contest gym, administrative offices, science labs, computer science labs, art studios, music and band rooms and a fully-functioning cafeteria.