How can schools provide every child with an environment where they can grow and thrive? The answer lies in creating facilities that support quality educational delivery and promote a high level of engagement. The author discusses four energy zones of schools: (1) Resignation; (2) Comfort; (3) Aggression; and (4) Passion. This model provides an…

One might assume that, within the walls of a school, it is the shared responsibility of the school nurse, guidance counselor, physical fitness instructor, and food services staff to protect student health. In truth, such an important responsibility also belongs, in very large part, to the educational facility planner and school maintenance staff.…

I'll never forget my amazement when my favorite jazz vocalist, also my teacher, revealed that even as a veteran musician, she still gets nervous on the stage. "Nervous energy encourages me to take chances" she said, emphasizing that taking chances is key to the musical improvisation for which she is known to this day. I enjoy finding…

In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, the skills needed to have a successful career were very different than they are today. This case study of the Hammond Area Career Center's Multimedia Broadcast Academy shows how one Rust Belt community has revamped its approach to career and technical education and is preparing students for jobs in the new economy. This…

The Bailey Yard is the largest rail classification yard in the world, stretching eight miles across the western prairie at North Platte, Nebraska. Trains leave Bailey Yard everyday--coal trains, grain trains, manifest trains--and each one represents a train prototype. Minneapolis Public School buildings are like a manifest train, where the…

Today's educators are passionate about shifting the standard classroom towards technology rich, collaborative spaces that support multiple types of learning environments (e.g. individual; peer-to-peer; problem based; hands-on; student-centered). On the other hand, facilities planners are challenged to create solutions within existing, restrictive…

Students are creating content in a variety of ways and using numerous technologies to share that content that did not exist when their teachers were students. Students are interacting with the new technologies they see on TV, at the movies and through their social networks. They are creating and sharing websites, posting self made videos and…

Amidst the debate over funding cuts, an increased focus on teacher effectiveness, and the move toward e-learning, many question the importance of quality educational facilities. But an examination of developmental and psychological theory suggests that exceptional schools have an exciting and crucial role to play in 21st century education. So,…

An increasingly complex global environment, with its corresponding international connectedness as well as competition, challenges educators to rethink curriculum, instruction and assessment through the lens of the 21st Century. High-skilled, technology-driven jobs and careers require individuals who possess deep content knowledge as well as soft…

As students know, the tools in their backpacks can influence success. If they are off to math class, a good calculator is essential. When on their way to English class, a laptop is fundamental. Building facility executives too have tools in their backpacks to assure the successful creation of educational buildings. Only their tools are…

The Seaford School District, Seaford, Delaware, determined that a component of their "reinvention" of Seaford High School would be the creation of a New Tech Academy, affiliated with the New Tech Network and housed in an addition to that building. The New Tech Network, headquartered in Napa, California, is a rapidly growing association…

As educators consider designing excellent spaces for education, it is helpful to take a broader look and talk about their approach to design the questions they need to ask. Rather than talk about specific designs of school buildings, the author suggests that they should refocus their vision and look at how ideas of citizenship, the home and…

A charrette (pronounced shuh-ret) is a collaborative planning process that harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties to create a shared vision and a feasible plan for implementation. The charrette consists of an intense period of design activity where variables are clarified, reasonable limits established and collective…

In the morning when a child walks into a classroom, he should feel a sense of belonging. In simple terms, this defines the world of "us-ness," a concept that noted educator and new media expert, Professor Stephen Heppell says plays the most important part in designing a new learning facility. Heppell advocates a critical assessment of the needs of…

Schools have always been recognized as an integral part of the community and the challenge is to ensure this vital component of social infrastructure is delivered in such a manner that long term benefits for local children, families and the broader community are realized. The Western Metropolitan Region in Victoria has experienced rapid…