CMSWillowbrook Receives Top Projects Award for New Deer Creek Public Schools Transition Center

CMSWillowbrook was awarded a Top Project Award by the Journal Record for Deer Creek Public Schools, New Transition Center in Edmond, OK. The Top Project winner was designed to help special needs students learn life skills, independence, and leadership. This unique center features classrooms, a bedroom area, living room, kitchen, and laundry room.

Cory Pivniska, CMSWillowbrook Project Director stated, “Typically, this type of facility isn’t available for students. The Transition Center is the first of its kind in the State of Oklahoma.” This process started over 15 years ago with the vision of parents and faculties that dreamed of a facility that would be available for their students. “We are very excited for the Deer Creek community and for us to be a part of it,” stated Cory. “It’s an amazing addition to the school district.”

This has been a multi-year fundraising project to create a learning facility for special needs students at the Deer Creek Public Schools High School. This was a unique project and the project team wanted to make every effort to make sure it was done right. Knowing that the students will learn basic life skills while receiving their high school education for their future is so important to CMSWillowbrook. “This was very crucial to complete for the Deer Creek Community, and we were incredibly honored and excited to see their dream come true,” Cory said. “We feel honored to be recognized when we’re able to help in any way to be part of dreams coming true for the communities we live in. 

The years of planning and hard work was done by a community effort to make this project happen. Deer Creek Public Schools Superintendent and school board (past and present) moved their vision forward to completion with the CMSWillowbrook project team and MA+ Architecture. The parent support group for the students worked to keep the dream going with fundraising. Also, countless hours were utilized to make sure that all of the needs could be met and the expectations of the community were fulfilled in the design of the project.

The Journal Record Top Projects awards honors the top construction projects completed in 2022 in Oklahoma during a special awards celebration reception. According to the Journal Record, project winners are chosen by an expert panel of local judges based on the following criteria: Scope of work, challenges and obstacles, budget and schedule, and overall quality.