PHOTOS: First Look Inside New Northport Intermediate School

NORTHPORT, AL — The Tuscaloosa County School System has officially finished construction on its new Northport Intermediate School as it plans to open for the first time to students in August.

Principal Michael Tilford gave a media tour on Friday to show off the inside of the new school for the first time, but before we take a sneak peek, here's some of our biggest takeaways.

5 things to know before Northport Intermediate School opens

1. A new approach: Immediately apparent in the new school is the design and layout, primarily the library. Tilford explained that the entire school was designed to address the old ways of learning, saying: "in the past, the paradigm of a classroom was kids sitting in line paying attention to a teacher … because that’s how industry was set up. Industry was set up pretty much as an assembly line. You’re in a line or in a long bank of people and you create the product. But now, if you look out into the real world, they work collaboratively."
2. WiFi for all: The new school will feature campus-wide WiFi access for students and faculty, allowing locations around the school to become potential workspaces. Picnic tables will be placed in the school's large courtyard, which will also have WiFi access, to allow students to work outside or for teachers to hold class in a more informal setting.
3. Built for safety: In addition to a tornado shelter, the school's multiple layers of protection for staff and students will feature technology designed with 21st century security in mind. Tilford explained, without going into too much sensitive detail, that visitors will not be able to enter the main part of the school without staff allowing them in.
4. A new kind of library: Incorporate a high-tech, yet casual approach, the new library will be unlike any other in the TCSS footprint. It includes conference rooms equipped with Smart Technology that will be accessible to teachers and students alike. Tilford described the design of the library as promoting collaboration, whereas he described the library dynamics of the past as being suitable for a more isolated experience.
5. Technology: To compliment the new high-tech infrastructure at the school, Tilford said students will also have iPads they will be allowed to check out and take home. "While we have multiple computer labs, anywhere a child is is a computer lab," he said.

Now ... here's a first look at the inside of the new Northport Intermediate School!

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