New Northwestern cafeteria designed with student input

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Kids chattered excitedly as sunshine streamed through large windows. Dark wood structures contrasting bright lighting hung above them. Some of the kids sat in booths. Others sat on benches or stools. Every few feet, the experience and the opportunity changed.

Northwestern High School’s new cafeteria feels much more like the dining room of a restaurant than a cubic container of cinderblock painted purple. It is one of the major physical upgrades the school has been conducting over the past two years, and this one is a hit with the students.

Northwestern Superintendent Kristen Bilkey is especially pleased with the results and the feedback she is receiving.

“The kids are actually really excited to be in this space, and they love the seating choices,” said Bilkey. “I've been going up to the tables and asking kids why they chose to sit where they did. Some like the booth space, and most of them want to sit by the windows, which are things that the seniors asked for when we met with them two years ago.

“We met with the students and asked them what they wanted, and the No. 1 thing was windows. It's interesting to hear kids say the reason I chose this seat is because I want to be by a window. Those little things to make their experience better.”

That’s right. The students had input on the design. The result is a cafeteria unlike those found in most schools. Food is vended from multiple locations across the cafeteria. Traditional lunch options are offered in a cafeteria line in one corner of the room. A salad bar and chilled food and drink choices occupy another. Another station is manned by cafeteria workers who prepare fresh food selections to order.

As a special reward to seniors, the administration added isolated seating along a hallway outside of the cafeteria proper, accessible only to that class. Bilkey said the added privacy was attractive to the students, as were the windows looking out upon a school courtyard.

And even though electronic device use is tightly regulated in the school these days, the cafeteria has relaxed rules. Many of the tables actually have charging stations for students to use. All of this was part of the vision shared by the students.

“Student voice is important,” said Bilkey. “We want parents to know we do listen to the kids, and we take their opinions into account. That, in itself, is a positive as far as attraction and retention. It's important these kids have a sense of pride in it. If you feel that pride and that connection to your school, you're going to want to stay.”

The construction isn’t quite finished, Bilkey explained. Additional seating space is being developed to the west of the cafeteria, which will connect to the middle school. But there is little evidence that the cafeteria actually exists at Northwestern, visually. The school colors were removed during construction.

“We've got a couple of tigers, but other than that, we didn't want purple,” said Bilkey. “Actually, the contractor had to repaint, because they painted purple. I think they thought it's got to be purple, right?

“We wanted it to be a whole different feeling; that you're not necessarily at school. This is your chance to relax a little bit and socialize, you know?”

That part was important to the students, and to Bilkey. She explained that part of the drive for this new cafeteria look and function was prompted by a visit from the past.

“When I was the high school principal, I remember I had the class of 1965, I think, come through,” said Bilkey. “They said the cafeteria looked exactly the same as they remembered. And I thought, ‘That's not where I would want to eat, someplace that hadn’t changed since the 1960s.

“I want us to evolve and get better and have spaces that are more relevant to kids today. It's nice to finally have the opportunity to provide that.”