The programs housed at the new Academies of Loudoun pride themselves in being on the cutting edge of technology and education. They boast a greenhouse that can run seven climate settings simultaneously, an auditorium designed with robotics competitions in mind, and professional-level auto mechanic garages and kitchens that serve as hands-on classrooms.

Well, the school’s cafeteria isn’t about to be left behind.

Well, the school’s cafeteria isn’t about to be left behind.The Academies of Loudoun opened just four weeks ago as the new home to three magnet programs: the Academy of Science, the Monroe Advanced Technical Academy, and the Academy of Engineering and Technology. Visit the campus around noon on any weekday, and you’ll see 1,200 high school students jetting from labs, makerspaces and high-tech classrooms to one of several spots in the 300,000-square-foot building serving lunch. With wraps, salads, and other sustenance in hand, the students settle in for the 45-minute lunch period all throughout the building—in outdoor courtyards, on comfy couches, in classrooms, and on bar stools in the Innovation Commons.

“We’ve rethought school lunch—suddenly, it’s cool and hip,” said Stefanie Dove, coordinator of Marketing and Community Outreach for the Department of School Nutrition Services. “We’ve literally knocked down the walls of the cafeteria and knocked down the stigma of the typical cafeteria experience. Look at this—it’s so inviting.”

To access the full article from LoudounNow, click here