Debbie Sykora Early Childhood Center at Oak View Elementary School
A Community-Focused Early Learning Environment Designed for Access, Belonging, and Long-Term Value
When Valley View School District set out to expand early childhood access in Bolingbrook, IL, the challenge wasn’t just about square footage. It was about reaching families who had been left out, welcoming children who experience the world differently, and creating a first school experience worthy of the moment. The Debbie Sykora Early Childhood Center, a 22,000-square-foot addition to an existing elementary campus partially funded through a $10 million Rebuild Illinois Early Childhood Construction Grant, is DLA Architects’ answer to that challenge.
Key Takeaways
- Post-COVID enrollment decline and transportation barriers drove the district’s need for a new, community-accessible early childhood facility in Bolingbrook.
- Biophilic design, color psychology, and child-scaled environments are the primary strategies used to support learners of all abilities and help
- reduce first-school anxiety.
- Life-size animal graphics serve as a non-text wayfinding system for pre-readers, doubling as teaching tools tied to each learning cohort’s identity.
- A warming kitchen solution eliminated the need for a full kitchen, achieving significant cost savings while still supporting the district’s nutrition education program.
- The building is oriented for daylighting, built with durable low-maintenance materials, and designed to accommodate future solar panels.
The Challenge: Removing Barriers to Early Learning
The core problem was access. After COVID-19, Valley View School District saw early childhood enrollment decline. Through direct family outreach, the district learned that transportation barriers, a single Romeoville location, and a perception that programs “weren’t for them” kept families in Bolingbrook from enrolling.
The data pointed to a clear opportunity: bring the program to where the families are. Needs assessments, including IECAM data analysis and a Tier 2 designation, confirmed significant unmet demand in the Bolingbrook community. The district applied for the maximum $10 million Early Childhood Construction Grant under the Rebuild Illinois program and received the full award.
Beyond geography, the district needed a facility that could serve a wide range of learners, including neurodivergent children who require sensory-sensitive environments, and pre-readers who need non-text wayfinding to navigate independently. The program also required space for a district nutrition education initiative, without the budget for a full commercial kitchen.
The Early Childhood Center welcomes students and the community with a vibrant, distinct entrance, while complementing the neighboring elementary school.
The entry sequence connects children to the local environment with animals used for wayfinding and to promote team spirit.
The main entry lobby features a green wall and child-sized bench seating, creating a welcoming atmosphere for young learners.
Flexible spaces, like the Community Outreach Room, allow educators to interact with students, collaborate with colleagues, and engage the community.
The “Nutrition” Hub invites children to explore healthy living through hands-on food preparation in a warm, sensory-rich environment.
The Gross Motor Skills Room offers seamless indoor-outdoor playground views, inspiring movement and active engagement.
The room’s transparency connects active play with community, allowing observation and inspiring movement among students.
Bright, flexible classroom design fosters collaboration, creativity, and student engagement, with adaptable spaces that support diverse learning styles.
Along the corridors, imaginative child-scale nooks with sensory elements and interactive manipulatives foster exploration, hands-on creativity, and quiet reflection.
Supportive of Social and Emotional Development, elements of nature have been introduced into the building as much as possible.
This library space supports active learning with environments like the puppet theater, fostering holistic child development through movement and inquiry.
Quiet sensory play areas complement active spaces, giving neurodiverse learners the supportive environments they need to thrive.
Open-ended, developmentally appropriate playgrounds foster creativity, physical movement, and joyful learning experiences in natural environments.
Dynamic play areas promote sensory engagement, active learning, and meaningful connections with nature.
Designed for active exploration, these nature-based playgrounds support movement, inquiry, and imaginative play in outdoor learning environments.
Vehicular circulation and traffic flow were improved with a separate bus drop-off, creating safer pathways for students.
The Design Concept: Putting the Learner at the Center of Every Decision
Every design choice traces back to one question: how does this serve the child? DLA Architects drew on over 20 years of biophilic research, including the 2024 Browning and Determan study “Outcomes of Biophilic Design for Schools,” which links nature-based learning environments to reduced stress, improved cognition, and higher standardized test scores.
That research shaped the building from the inside out:
Spatial experience rooted in nature
- Organic, curvilinear flooring patterns in corridors invite movement and exploration
- Clerestories bring natural light into corridors and mimic the experience of walking through the woods
- Ceiling heights, colors, and textures shift from space to space to create distinct environments
- Child-scaled nooks throughout the building offer retreat, comfort, and a sense of independence
Wayfinding designed for pre-readers
Life-size animal graphics, one species per learning cohort, serve as both a navigation system and an interactive teaching resource. Children learn to find their classrooms by following their animal. The graphics grow with the curriculum.
Sensory and emotional regulation by design
- Calming blue in sensory rooms, chosen specifically for its soothing effect
- Energizing yellow in the Nutrition Hub to create an inviting, active atmosphere
- Tactile materials and sensory manipulatives placed along corridors
- Separate active and sensory outdoor play zones to serve the full range of learners
A live green wall in the main entry lobby, set at a child-scale, ensures that the youngest learners connect with nature from the moment they walk in the door.
Nutrition education without a full kitchen
Because the Debbie Sykora Early Childhood Center is sited adjacent to an existing elementary school with a full kitchen, DLA Architects designed a warming kitchen paired with serving carts. The solution eliminated the cost of duplicating costly kitchen infrastructure while fully supporting the district’s nutrition programming. Since multiple meals are served in each classroom daily, interior materials were selected for durability and ease of cleaning.
Safety, circulation, and site integration
A secured vestibule and separate bus drop-off create safe, distinct pathways for students. The building was carefully sited to complement the neighboring elementary school while giving the Early Childhood Center its own distinct, welcoming identity.
The Outcome: A First School Experience That Reflects Every Child
The Debbie Sykora Early Childhood Center delivers on every goal the district identified. Families in Bolingbrook now have a fully accessible early childhood facility close to home, with programming designed to reduce the anxiety of a child’s first school experience rather than add to it.
The addition provides seven new classrooms for early childhood students, each paired with shared learning zones, pull-out therapy spaces, and direct connections to outdoor play. The facility supports neurodivergent learners through sensory-sensitive design, flexible classroom configurations, and clearly defined spaces for regulation and retreat.
The district’s commitment to lifelong wellness starts early. The Nutrition Hub gives children and families a dedicated space to learn together through hands-on food preparation and healthy habit-building. Research consistently shows that early nutrition education leads to improved health outcomes across a lifetime, and this space reflects the district’s deep investment in that principle. By embedding nutrition literacy into the early childhood experience, the district is shaping habits that extend well beyond the classroom.
Sustainably, the building is oriented to maximize daylighting, constructed with a durable building envelope, equipped with energy-efficient systems, and designed to accommodate future solar panels. These strategies reflect a long-term investment in the community rather than a one-time construction event.
Most importantly, the building works as a first school experience. Children find their way using animals, not words. They move through corridors that feel like walking through the woods. They retreat to nooks when they need quiet. They eat meals in classrooms built to handle daily use. And they arrive at a building that was designed, from the site plan to the green wall, to say: this place was built for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the design support neurodivergent learners?
The facility includes dedicated sensory rooms with calming blue interiors, child-scaled nooks for retreat, flexible classroom configurations, tactile corridor materials, and separate active and sensory outdoor play zones. These features support sensory regulation and varied learning styles without singling out individual students.
How do pre-readers navigate the building independently?
Life-size animal graphics serve as the primary wayfinding system. Each learning cohort is assigned an animal, so children can identify and navigate to their classroom before they develop reading skills. The graphics also function as interactive teaching tools tied to each group’s identity.
How was the nutrition program accommodated without a full kitchen?
A warming kitchen and serving carts were designed to work in coordination with the existing full kitchen in the adjacent elementary school. This solution supported the district’s nutrition education program while avoiding the cost of building duplicate kitchen infrastructure.
Is the building designed with sustainability in mind?
Yes. The building is oriented for natural daylighting, features an energy-efficient building envelope, uses healthy interior materials throughout, and is designed to accommodate future solar panels. The project does not pursue formal LEED certification but exceeds code minimums across multiple sustainability categories.