With the opening of the Jan & Ross Billings Innovation Center of Excellence, the Anaheim Union High School District is distinguishing itself as a leader in the preparation of future cybersecurity professionals.
The 22,161-square-foot, two-story center at Magnolia High School, believed to be the first K-12 educational facility in the nation dedicated to a cybersecurity curriculum, was unveiled to the public on Thursday, Sept. 5.
Jan Billings during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
AUHSD Superintendent Michael Matsuda during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Magnolia High School band play under a mirrored walkway during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jan Billings, center, joins officials as they cut a ribbon during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Magnolia High School band play during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Magnolia High senior Rogelio Castillo conducts a tour of the server room during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A classroom at the new Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Magnolia High School band play under a mirrored walkway during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jan Billings during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jan Billings gets a hug from AUHSD Superintendent Michael Matsuda during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Jan Billings during the grand opening of the Jan and Ross Billings Innovation Center at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The two-story building spans 22,161 square feet and includes an additional 8,200 square feet of covered outdoor walkways, bringing the total footprint to 30,181 square feet. The center is equipped with five general classrooms and four cybersecurity classrooms, part of a broader Cybersecurity Pathway. The centerpiece of this facility is the 6,700-square-foot Cybersecurity Project-based Learning Center, which comprises four dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, an instructional server room, and two workrooms. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The center was named for Jan and Ross Billings, longtime educators in the district who spearheaded the development of several innovative programs during the 1970s.
With district officials, dignitaries and Jan Billings herself in attendance (Ross Billings died in July 2020), the center was celebrated for its dedicated cybersecurity classrooms, instructional server rooms, administrative space and architecture that is as functional as it is esthetically pleasing.
“Welcome to the Getty Center of Orange County,” Superintendent Michael Matsuda quipped. “Doesn’t it look cool? It’s just an amazing, amazing building.”
As an educational center developed for cybersecurity instruction for high schoolers, the students using the center’s technology are on course to join a tech-savvy workforce tasked with securing safe technological operations and protecting digital information.
“To be associated with this Innovation Center, which is absolutely breathtaking, is something Ross and I would never have dreamed of,” said Jan Billings, who served as a consultant on the two-year project. “This beautiful building symbolizes hope for the future, creativity and a belief in the students who will make a better world. I applaud the leadership of this district for this bold initiative. It’s truly amazing.”
Two new restrooms, a seismic retrofit, a new fire alarm system and a high-density storage system were added to another campus building as part of the project, which was funded from a $249 bond measure approved by voters in 2014.
The project also included renovations to classrooms, new rooftop HVAC units, a new courtyard with a presentation wall, a kiln enclosure and new landscaping.
Additions to the campus pool facility included a concrete pool deck, equipment, bleachers and benches, a shade canopy, storage area, restrooms and gate.
The center also has an 8,020-square-foot, covered outdoor corridor and a covered loggia.
The center, officials said, enables Magnolia High School to greatly expand its Cybersecurity Pathway program, which was launched in the 2017-18 school year.
Students will have access to equipment that will allow them to “engage in real-world applications like cyber vulnerability competitions, robotics, coding, drone experiments, and malware detection,” officials said.
Several Magnolia graduates were in attendance for the grand opening celebration.
Among them was 2018 graduate Anthony Gomez, a participant in the Cybersecurity Pathways Program who now works as a security analysist for Hulu.
The Innovation Center could be a draw for students wanting to explore a career in cybersecurity, Gomez said.
“I think it’s definitely a motivation for them,” he said. “I mean, obviously being able to come into this building and it being specialized for cybersecurity students and just being able to go in there and play with everything they have, I think that’s pretty motivating and you get the hands-on experience.”
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