This is worth a review. While curious about why schools cost a lot these days, and what kind of thinking goes into this process I came across this link. summary below -bd
Report from the National Summit on School Design
Schools in the 21st century should feature more diverse learning environments, greater technology and be more integrated with their communities, recommends a new report on school design issued today by the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) and KnowledgeWorks Foundation.
The 70-page Report from the National Summit on School Design provides recommendations to help designers and educators make better decisions about some of the $30 billion spent annually on new or renovated school facilities. In recognizing the historic opportunity created by a multi-billion dollar national school construction boom, the report states that American education is at a “watershed moment in school design” when “the definition of the American school is evolving into something entirely new.”
“We have moved beyond the one-size fits all approach to school design to an age of greater innovation and flexibility tailored to meet the needs of individual students, schools and communities,” said Ronald E. Bogle, president and CEO, of the American Architectural Foundation. “The successful schools of the future need to apply the research on how students learn and how the quality of our educational facilities affects student performance, health, safety, self-esteem and well-being.”
The report recommendations reflect the unprecedented collaboration of more than 200 public, private, and civic sector leaders who participated in the three-day National Summit on School Design late last year. This broad range of perspectives included the input of public sector representatives from the U.S. Conferences of Mayors to the U.S. Department of Education; design thought leaders including the American Planning Association and the National Endowment for the Arts; economic interests such as the National Association of Realtors and the Wharton School of Business; and leading philanthropies like The Rockefeller Foundation and William Penn Foundation.
“What we are suggesting is nothing less than a fundamental re-definition of the American school house” said Chad P. Wick, president and CEO of KnowledgeWorks Foundation, “You can’t expect children to learn 21st century skills in schools built for the 1950′s. We need schools designed for 21st century success.”
According to the report’s findings, critical components of that success must involve:
- Designing schools to support a variety of learning styles. Since not all students learn the same way, school facilities should support project-based learning, tutoring and mentoring, interactive classrooms, individual work stations as well as more traditional classrooms.
- Enhancing learning by integrating technology.
Technology must be integrated into the environment of any well-designed school in order to support learning and help schools operate more effectively.
- Fostering a “small school” culture. Summit participations recognized the importance and benefits of developing a small school culture that fosters relationships and attachments. Some school districts have divided large schools into two or more smaller schools to allow a more intimate learning environment.
- Creating schools as centers of community.
A growing trend is for schools to serve as the center of the community, where learning takes place for students and adults and where the facilities may also house recreational centers, health clinics and community meeting spaces. Schools as centers of community can be used all-year and serve the intergenerational needs of a community-from pre-school to K-12 to adults.
- Engaging the public in the planning process.
The school design process must involve the public in an open and authentic engagement process that includes school and community stakeholders and recognizes minority opinions.
- Making healthy, comfortable, and flexible learning spaces. Good school design addresses the security, day lighting, ventilation, acoustics and other elements that impact the health, safety and functionality of school facilities used by more than 59 million students, teachers and other adults on a daily basis in the U.S.
- Considering non-traditional options for school facilities and classrooms. There are many ways in which a school may function, and many places where it may be housed. Underused civic, retail, and cultural facilities can be adapted to learning spaces, for example, can contribute to student learning by offering nontraditional opportunities to engage with academic subjects and the environment outside the classroom.
This summit follows on and builds on the National Symposium on School Design that was organized in 1998 by then U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and the American Institute of Architects. Riley has been on the Board of KnowledgeWorks Foundation since 2000.
The report, which also features innovative school examples and an extensive resource section, is available for free on the web at http://www.archfoundation.org or can be purchased for $15 by calling 202-626-7318.
Recent Comments