Bright Star Valor Elementary School
The project involves the construction of a 39,425-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility for Valor Elementary, designed to be both affordable and first-class. This new campus will provide 540 permanent seats for students in grades TK through 4th, featuring 28 classrooms and a multi-purpose building equipped with a servery. Additionally, a historically designated house on the site will be preserved and integrated into the campus, serving as administrative and support space.
Valor Academy, part of the Bright Star Schools network, is a new TK–4 campus serving approximately 552 students. The project combined thoughtful new construction with the preservation of a designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument—a1920s residence that was fully rehabilitated and repurposed as the school’s administration building. The scope included complete site demolition, restoration of the historic home, and construction of a new 39,425 s.f., two-story, wood-framed classroom building equipped with fully compliant fire and life-safety systems.
The campus features 27classrooms, including specialty learning spaces, a multipurpose room, outdoor play areas designed for different grade levels, and on-site parking with internal drop-off circulation. Oltmans Construction Co. delivered comprehensive construction services, aligning design intent, budget, and schedule through early-release coordination and value-focused planning.
Historical Restoration
A key community priority was the protection of the historic 1920s residence on site—an important Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. In close collaboration with preservation specialists, Oltmans Construction Co. carefully removed, cataloged, restored, and reinstalled all architecturally significant elements, ensuring the home was returned to its original character and repurposed for meaningful public use as the school’s administrative center.
Sustainability
Given the arid climate in the Los Angeles basin and the significant energy demands in LA County, the Valor Academy campus incorporates an on-site solar photovoltaic system with battery storage to reduce reliance on the electrical grid, improve energy resilience, and lower long-term energy consumption.
Water efficiency strategies were equally important. A rainwater harvesting system captures and reuses available stormwater to irrigate trees and landscaped areas, helping to offset irrigation demands and reduce potable water use in a region where water conservation is critical. Additionally, high-performance, energy-efficient insulation was installed throughout the Kindergarten classrooms to enhance thermal comfort and reduce heating and cooling loads.
