Long Beach USD, Ernest S. McBride Sr. High School Early Academic Technical School

As part of Long Beach Unified School District’s Measure K program and a priority on the District’s Facility Master Plan, Ernest S. McBride, Sr. High School (Early College Academic and Technical School) is the District’s first thematic school with the goal of connecting students with regional occupational programs, the Long Beach City College, Cal State Long Beach and local business. The school is providing an innovative approach to educating 9-12 graders by bridging their educational experiences with career readiness in the fields of Health and Medicine, Public Safety and Protection, and Engineering and Design. Through the collaborative efforts of the community, faculty, neighborhood residents, and District staff, the new school was built on the former DeMille Middle School site.

The new 150,000 SF facility includes 43 classrooms in seven buildings surrounding a central campus promenade with an administration building with library, science building, two multi-story classrooms, gymnasium, lecture hall and food service facilities. The campus was built to house a proposed student body of 1,080 and was successfully occupied in the fall of 2013. Designed to attain a high level of sustainability in accordance with the Collaborative for High Performance School guidelines, the facility includes a high efficiency water-cooled central plant paired with a sophisticated Energy Management Systems enabling the District to operate the facility at 40% below Title 24 requirements. Other energy conservation measures like photovoltaic arrays, automatic lighting systems, operable windows, and window shading also contribute to reducing the school’s energy usage. 3QC was responsible for providing Fundamental Commissioning in accordance with CHPS EE3.0 requirements and contributed to the completion of the DSA HPI grant application.

During drywall installation at the McBride High School, several of the air handling units were cycled, potentially contaminating the ductwork and HVAC equipment. We immediately identified the potential contamination and recommended additional protection for the ductwork return inlets as well as cleaning of the affected air handling units. Quick reaction to this indoor air quality challenge limited the clean-up efforts required by the contractor ultimately saving time and labor on the project.