Strategies for Planning and Designing Effective Schools Prakash

Strategies for Planning and Designing Effective Schools Prakash Nair, RA, REFP President, Urban Educational Facilities for the 21 st Century Director of Educational Planning, Vitetta CEFPI Australia Annual Conference Melbourne 2001

PART ONE A Midnight Epiphany A Swiss Watchmaker’s Tale Allan’s Gastronomic Tour of My Life The What’s and How’s of Learning Creative Classroom Example Quantum Mechanics and the Soul CEFPI – Australia 2001

Schools for Tomorrow Our Past – Students learn the same things at the same time in the same place from the same people in the same way Our Children’s Future – All people learn continuously, different things at different times in different places from different people in different ways CEFPI – Australia 2001

PART ONE A Midnight Epiphany A Swiss Watchmaker’s Tale Allen’s Gastronomic Tour of My Life The What’s and How’s of Learning Creative Classroom Example Quantum Mechanics and the Soul CEFPI – Australia 2001

Measuring Success A successful school building is measured not as much by its design as by its use CEFPI – Australia 2001

The Importance of Contextual elements that should shape and influence school design – – – Social Economic Cultural Governing Physical Learning In addition, individuals are shaped by other factors such as the home environment and personal experiences CEFPI – Australia 2001

Where We Were School Today – Teen View Multiple Intelligences CEFPI – Australia 2001

Key Terms For Tomorrow Learning Modalities Synergy CEFPI – Australia 2001

Learning Modalities Dr. David Thornburg’s Four Primordial Learning Metaphors – Campfire – Watering Hole – Cave – Life CEFPI – Australia 2001

Synergy – Connected people are far more effective because of the synergy they create as part of a global “learning community” – Collaborative Learning CEFPI – Australia 2001

Their Future Our Past Their Future Role Reversal CEFPI – Australia 2001

PART TWO Case Studies CEFPI – Australia 2001

Alpha High School Gresham, Oregon Dull Olsen Weekes Architects, pc CEFPI – Australia 2001

Alpha High School BACKGROUND 16, 000 SF, 150 Students, 9 -12, 1999 1. 5 acre site Includes school-to-work program Demo areas, evening college courses Community meeting space Community employment center CEFPI – Australia 2001

Alpha High School SPECIAL FEATURES Adjustable room sizes through operable partitions and system of moving walls called the DOWall Storage cabinets, teacher stations, student project lockers, tables, computer carts and desks all designed to be mobile Data locations, lighting, mechanical systems and finishes contribute to flexible space use No corridors Main space uses CEFPI – Australia 2001 day-lighting techniques

Southridge High School Beaverton, Oregon Dull Olsen Weekes Architects, pc CEFPI – Australia 2001

Southridge High School BACKGROUND 256, 000 SF, 2000 Students, 9 -12, 1999 4 Neighborhoods of 450 -500 students 35 acre site Collaborative community based design process Designed to create feeling of smallness within largeness CEFPI – Australia 2001

Southridge High School SPECIAL FEATURES “Mainstreet” includes food kiosks, and student government facilities. Town Square with bold colors highlights vitality of school. Place for student and staff meetings and work Neighborhoods – four at 450 -500 students. Independent with kinetic and cognitive learning spaces and teacher support zones Porches – safe transition zones with student areas, admin and counselor offices and parent volunteer spaces CEFPI – Australia 2001

Davidson Elementary Davidson, North Carolina Adams Group, Architects, PA CEFPI – Australia 2001

Davidson Elementary BACKGROUND/SPECIAL FEATURES 82, 000 SF, K-5 700 students, 1997 learning centers arranged as a house group of 6 classrooms Local artists suggested gallery to exhibit student and local community artwork Full sized gym was created in exchange for code-required road by Town. Gym is used by students and community year-round Collaborative design approach included design sketches by students and “wish poem – “I wish my school. . . ” Each south-facing classroom has its own outdoor porch Light shelf reflects natural daylight deep into classroom areas CEFPI – Australia 2001

School For The Physical City New York, New York RTK&B Architects CEFPI – Australia 2001

School For The Physical City BACKGROUND 55, 000 SF, 500 Students, 7 -11, 1995 The School for the Physical City was conceived to take education directly into the streets, tunnels, bridges and institutions of New York City Adaptive reuse of old industrial building Magnet program at central location attracts students from throughout the City After-hour use by various community groups Inter-age classes CEFPI – Australia 2001

The School of Environmental Studies at The Minnesota Zoo HGA Educational Design Group CEFPI – Australia 2001

The School of Environmental Studies BACKGROUND 68, 000 SF, 440 Students, 9 -12, 1995 This optional high school is the result of a unique partnership developed between ISD 196, the Minnesota Zoological Gardens and the City of Apple Valley with support from Dakota County and the State of Minnesota. CEFPI – Australia 2001

The School of Environmental Studies MISSION The mission of SES is to develop active citizen leaders who are: Environmentally informed Self-perpetuating learners, and Connected to the local and global community. CEFPI – Australia 2001

The School of Environmental Studies SAMPLE LEARNING EXPERIENCES Cannon River outdoor interdisciplinary expeditions Outdoor student bridge Working with younger children to raise environmental awareness Classwork presentations to Zoo personnel Snow camping as winter learning experience related to survival Construction of nature trail on site of the zoo CEFPI – Australia 2001

KING URBAN EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTER Buffalo, New York Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects CEFPI – Australia 2001

KING URBAN EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTER BACKGROUND • 15, 350 SF Pre K- 2, Completed 1998 • Adaptive resuse and restoration of a historic church, a significant community landmark • Incorporates experimental inner-city school, computer technology connected to a larger educational network and support for multiple inner-city programs for all ages CEFPI – Australia 2001

KING URBAN EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTER DESIGN FEATURES • Open classrooms with variety of adjacent multi-use spaces shared by school and community programs • “Ceiling of light” effectively separates classroom environment from larger, former church volume • Flexible, unassigned spaces permit many un-programmed activities • Old areas creatively reused – confessionals turned into computer workstations CEFPI – Australia 2001

JULIA RICHMAN HIGH SCHOOL New York City CEFPI – Australia 2001

JULIA RICHMAN HIGH SCHOOL Ten Years Ago • Ten years ago, Julia Richman High School ranked among the very worst schools in New York City. Two thirds of the freshman class quit before graduation. One cafeteria fight ended in gunfire outside. • Employees of nearby Memorial Sloan–Kettering hospital walked all the way around the block rather than risk passing the school's front door. • Education? Most Julia Richman kids considered themselves lucky just to get through the day. . CEFPI – Australia 2001

JULIA RICHMAN EDUCATIONAL COMPLEX Today • Today, violence is largely a thing of the past, and the metal detectors are history. The dropout rate has fallen into single digits. More than half of Julia Richman's graduates now go on to college • The school that had taught 2, 500 teenagers in an undifferentiated mob has become eight separate schools–each smaller and more focused on the needs and interests of the kids enrolled there and three community resource centers. Ted Gest U. S. News Online CEFPI – Australia 2001

CENTER FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AND CAREER EXPLORATION Rocky Mount, Virginia Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design CEFPI – Australia 2001

CENTER FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AND CAREER EXPLORATION Background • The Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration in rural Franklin County Virginia was formed to provide career exploration for students in an area with high unemployment. It is a onesemester curriculum required of all eighth-grade students which uses technology to engage students in career planning. • Each semester, half of the eighth graders and selected ninth graders attend all of their classes at the center. They select three areas of study from eight career modules CEFPI – Australia 2001

CENTER FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AND CAREER EXPLORATION The Modules • Arts • Environmental/natural resources • Manufacturing • Engineering • Architectural design • Legal science • Finance • Health and human services/medicine CEFPI – Australia 2001

CENTER FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AND CAREER EXPLORATION The Modules At the center interns are developing oral, written, and auditory communication skills. They continue to clarify a career path, and develop a work ethic that includes responsibility, initiative, selfdiscipline, integrity, dependability, and appropriate technology, and develop strategies that will help them adapt to change. CATCE Website CEFPI – Australia 2001

INTERDISTRICT DOWNTOWN SCHOOL MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA The Cunningham Group CEFPI – Australia 2001

INTERDISTRICT DOWNTOWN SCHOOL MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA Guiding Principles • It was required that the school be a culturally diverse environment • function as a laboratory school for “best practices” in curriculum and instruction • effectively use learning technology • call upon proven, effective strategies for dealing with multicultural issues • Economically and racially balance and enroll students from all nine participating districts • be a K-12 school • model 21 st century learning and school design • use the learning richness and possibilities of the urban context of downtown CEFPI – Australia 2001

Conserve School, WI Project-oriented, apply concepts as you learn them High-tech, incorporate latest appropriate technology Interdisciplinary, reinforce and practice concepts from one class to others Grounded in great books and original works of many cultures Participatory, using field studies, Socratic dialogue, experimentation, and group learning CEFPI – Australia 2001

Conserve School, WI Always improving never assume final excellence has been achieved Relevant expectations of real world curriculum clearly articulated Often outdoors taking advantage of living lab campus and contemplative space Student-centered, student success is each staff member's responsibility CEFPI – Australia 2001

New Tech High Napa, California One-to-one students to computers ratio No bells, no class changes, all walls are glass Students treated like employees First day they receive websites and email addresses Project based curriculum – math, English, history, etc. are learnt in an integrated manner CEFPI – Australia 2001

New Tech High Napa, California Eight skills that students must master Collaboration Problem-solving Oral communication Written communication Career-building Technological literacy Citizenship and ethics Content literacy CEFPI – Australia 2001

Chantilly Academy, Fairfax VA Vocational ed without the stigma Enrollment is 60% “regular kids bored in traditional classrooms” Students earn coveted technical certifications in courses designed by Cisco Systems, Microsoft and Nortel. Surrounded by like-minded classmates and encouraged to pursue something he loved, Matt quickly blossomed from a bit of an outcast who couldn't get his GPA above C level to a motivated and popular A student. Time Magazine CEFPI – Australia 2001

Microsociety Schools An A+ cannot be saved or invested or traded for something of value George Richmond Founder There are over 200 microsociety schools in the United States Teaches young students about the adult world by recreating society – complete with fake money, tax returns and a justice system. . . CEFPI – Australia 2001

Eugenio Maria De Hostos Microsociety School, New York . . . As they began to discover the relevance of reading and math through managing their miniature society, Richmond’s students also discovered in themselves an enthusiasm for education – and a hunger for more me Magazine CEFPI – Australia 2001

Eugenio Maria De Hostos Microsociety School, New York Micro is not a simulation, it’s a real world, a real society. Everyone has a job, everyone gets paid. CEFPI – Australia 2001

Service Learning Values like altruism and caring are often acquired values and children benefit greatly from rich service learning experiences in their community CEFPI – Australia 2001

Service Learning CEFPI – Australia 2001

Service Learning CEFPI – Australia 2001

Education Redefined Education is the process to surface and then realize your full potential as a human being towards improving your life and the world around you CEFPI – Australia 2001

Education CEFPI – Australia 2001

Prakash@Designshare. com CEFPI – Australia 2001

THE END CEFPI – Australia 2001

CEFPI – Australia 2001

Collaborative Learning CEFPI – Australia 2001

Social Development CEFPI – Australia 2001

Skill Level CEFPI – Australia 2001

Multiple Intelligences CEFPI – Australia 2001

Research CEFPI – Australia 2001

School To Career CEFPI – Australia 2001

Teen View CEFPI – Australia 2001

Role Reversal CEFPI – Australia 2001

Creative Classroom CEFPI – Australia 2001