*Richard Riley Award Nominations Due December 1, 2009 *

In 2004, the KnowledgeWorks Foundation launched the Richard Riley Award – Schools as Centers of Community: A National Search for Excellence. This initiative was part of an effort to support school districts and communities that make school facilities more conducive to learning, and more accessible to the entire community. The award is named in honor of former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, who led the way in the 1990’s in promoting the concept of schools as centers of community.

The American Architectural Foundation, in partnership with KnowledgeWorks Foundation, is pleased to continue acknowledgement of community school design achievement through the Richard Riley Award. In the fall, a school that illustrates both community collaboration and school design excellence will be announced. A $5,000 prize will be awarded to the winning school. The prize will be offered to the school only; individuals are not eligible to receive the award.

*Due to high interest in the Richard Riley Award, the deadline for nominations has been changed to December 1, 2009*

For nominating instructions, a sample nomination form, and information about past winners, please visit the Richard Riley Award page.

GREGORY A. PATTERSON, Star Tribune

Cyber Village Academy, one of Minnesota’s first online schools, has become the state’s first charter school to win International Baccalaureate certification for its middle-school program.

The development for the academy, which is based in St. Paul, shows how tough competition for students has become not only between traditional public and charter schools, but also among online schools. One result is that Minnesota students should have more and better school choices; another is that online education will continue to grow in the future, education experts said Monday.

International Baccalaureate (IB) programs are highly regarded for requiring students to meet high international standards, for their focus on global issues and for their encouragement of students to contribute in their own communities.

Cyber Village Academy has a unique mixture of online and classroom instruction. From Monday through Wednesday, students go to school; on Thursday and Friday, they study from home, take field trips, go to libraries or otherwise participate in distance learning.

Cyber Village is hoping the IB stamp can bring in more students for its grades four through eight. When the school got its start 11 years ago, even the word “cyber” was new to most people. “We were the only game in town,” said school director David Alley.

But a procession of competition from newly minted online schools whittled the school’s enrollment to 116 at the end of last year, from about 180 in 2001 when it had two locations.

“We needed, in marketing terms, to differentiate ourselves,” Alley said. “What made sense was the IB program … so we could stand out in the market.”

Gaining the IB certification also meant convincing the Geneva, Switzerland-based organization that a school with a big online component could meet its rigorous requirements. The school has been working on gaining accreditation for four years and has been teaching the IB curriculum for two years, Alley said.

IB spokeswoman Sandra Coyle said Cyber Village was certified based on its classroom instruction, not its online component.

“They spend enough time in the classroom to qualify,” Coyle said.

Regardless of its emphasis on classroom time, the IB organization is moving into online learning, too. This year the organization began offering teacher training over the web, and it has begin designing an online diploma program.

“The IB curriculum is a strong curriculum,” said Joe Nathan, director of the Humphrey Institute’s Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota. And it is one that can be taught through Cyber Village’s online and in-class mix, he added.

Cyber Village parents seem to agree. “I really like the fact that it is an International Baccalaureate school,” said Lisa Gale, who has a fifth-grader and a seventh-grader at the school. Working independently on Thursday and Friday has helped her children set priorities and manage their time, she said.

“What we’re seeing all over the state,” Nathan said, “are districts and charter schools looking for ways to increase their effectiveness and attractiveness to families. Which is a good thing.”

Gregory A. Patterson • 612-673-7287

July 28, 2009

CNN aired a story recently (as part of their ‘Green Solutions’ segment)
featuring the use of recycled materials for playground projects. It shows
the entire recycling process — from collection, to manufacturing of
equipment, to installation. The two playgrounds (one under construction, one
completed) are EcoPlay Playgrounds and the manufacturing process was
recorded at the Safeplay Systems facility in Marietta, GA. Here’s a link to
the CNN video clip

Safeplay Systems
4452 Winfred Dr.
Marietta, GA 30066

RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2009
CONTACT: Barbara C. Worth
480.285.9002
barb@cefpi.org

CEFPI Efforts Pay Off
House Approves Green High Performing Public Schools Facilities Act
Washington, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2187, the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act.

“CEFPI has been one of the lead advocates for this legislation for over a year and was involved in crafting the language for the green renovation portion of the State Stabilization Fund (Title VIX) of the AARA as well as the Miller bill introduced last session,” stated Sue Robertson, president, CEFPI.

The multi-year school construction bill would provide states with funding to make grants and low interest loans so school districts could build, modernize and repair facilities to make them healthier, safer and more energy-efficient, while also making hundreds of thousands of jobs available. The bill passed 275-155, and now goes to the Senate, which took no action after the House passed similar legislation last year.

The funds, totaling $6.4 billion for 2010, would be allotted under a formula based on a district’s share of students from low-income families, but the bill guarantees that every district that receives federal money for low-income students will get at least $5,000. A majority of the funds will have to be used for projects that meet green standards for construction materials and energy sources.

John Ramsey, executive director/CEO, CEFPI noted, “CEFPI , together with our partners, will continue our efforts to explore various AARA funding mechanisms, isolating the areas of money that affect educational facilities and will serve as the resource for all aspects of school planning, design, construction, and maintenance.

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Monday, March 9, 2009

The Green Revolution is on fast forward with the passing of the stimulus package. The goal of this blog is educate myself about all things green and share this information with others especially as a new resident of the Atlanta Metro area. I am researching, networking and writing about Green entrepreneurs, green in the education sector, manufacturers, suppliers and vendors and the overall strategy for sustainability.

This interview with Adrienne Baker, Producer of the Agenda for a Sustainable America events highlights how large corporations have moved from wanting to know about case studies to overall strategies for sustainability.

Tiffany (T): Hello Adrienne, Thank you for allowing me to speak with you today from Vancouver Canada. I wanted to learn more about Green Power Conferences and the Agenda for a Sustainable America and opportunities for entrepreneurs in the Green Industry. I am also interested in Green Schools because I am an Educational Designer of innovative learning environments.

Adrienne (A): I am looking at your blog now.

T: I put up articles in late 2008 then I got busy but now I want to make it more about my own personal journey in the Green World.

A: Great. I like your website. Tomorrow we are launching a new series of events that is the best thing we can talk about.

T: Absolutely. Also as I began networking at Green events and I started to see the same people and we were all asking the same question…where do we fit? What is our niche? How do we get in?

A: That’s the time we are in isn’t it?

T: Yes, especially with the economy the way it is in the states. Everything is on the table.

A: Yes

T: Everyone is attempting to find his or her niche. My first question is about you and how you got involved in this industry?

A: I was an editor of a financial publication called Investor Relations magazine and started doing some work chairing conferences for Green Power. I should also tell you that out of this office in Vancouver we only run a series of the events called the Agenda for a Sustainable America. This is the new series we are launching. It was previously called Corporate Climate Response. Green Power does events on renewables, biofuels etc.

So my background was an editor then I became very interested in how large corporations were beginning to look at the threat of global warming impacting their operations. Initially we began looking at how shareholders looked at that. That moved into a series of events called Corporate Climate Response that we have been running for four or five years now. And those events really focused on how companies responding to global warming.

We did those for four years and basically looked in depth at carbon management and climate response and we saw really that companies who wanted to be sustainable could not take a piecemeal approach. They have to look a very strategic view of long-term sustainability. They basically have to make it their DNA, if you will. So we are re-launching this series of events under the name, Agenda for a Sustainable America. It is really looking at how some companies have developed a sustainability strategy through the top down approach and are looking at things like anticipating future regulations, climate response, carbon management, energy efficiency, clean technologies, water management and supply chain issues in a systemic way and really trying to anticipate how they have to be proactive rather than reactive, let’s say.

We have a series of nine events in 2009 that are bringing together the corporate leaders in this area and other green innovators that are working with the companies to talk about how you can become strategic and systemic strategies for green, clean and profitable companies and how you can take things one step further. The reason is because these companies cannot look at these things separately any longer. They have to have a system for it.

T: And this impacts their bottom line directly.

A: It does, It does. A lot of companies recognize this and the anticipated carbon trade system.

T: When is that first event?

A: Our Sustainable Manufacturing Summit is on the 29-30th of April. Then the next event is called the Agenda for Sustainable America in Seattle, June 10-11. That is our first one. We are repeating that in Chicago in September, and Miami in November and New York in July. The website for this series is www.asaseries.com. We are making it live tomorrow.

The exciting thing about the Sustainable Manufacturing Summit is that we have a lot of very big manufacturers coming along like Siemens, Kraft, Toshiba, US Steel, Pfizer, Owen Corning and Holender. They are going to talk very specifically about how they are building sustainability into their business as a strategy. We also have the CEO of McDonough and Braungart Chemistry who have developed the Cradle to Cradle methodology. He is going to give an interactive session introducing cradle to cradle and two of his companies, Herman Miller and Shaw Industries are coming along to talk about how they use this method. That’s quite interesting because their methods ends in zero waste and that is an incredibly challenging thing to do.

In Seattle in June we have had an incredible response for speakers such Microsoft, Starbucks, Kettle Foods, Boeing, Shorebank Pacific…a lot of strong names and high profile executives. Many of the speakers of CEOs and Presidents. That is fitting for that event because it is focused on strategy. A lot of our events in the past were focused on case studies about specific companies. This series, Agenda for a Sustainable America will incorporate that practical advise but it begins from the first day with a look at how you can build sustainability as a strategy. That is much different than looking at isolated examples of carbon management or energy efficiency. I have observed after going to these events over the years is that we attract speakers that head sustainability of the company and the delegates are their peers…They are the head of CSR, head of environment, etc. They often say to us that they want to hear about the strategy and we really want to know how they made this their strategy. That’s interesting in the US because up until now that has been entirely voluntary. You have some fascinating companies that have spear headed this change but like you said with this difficult economy the companies that have adopted this strategy realize there is an economic benefit to being sustainable and you have to take the long-term view of that. Even if there is a two-year payback time for an energy efficiency project for example there is still the motivation to pursue these strategies. I think it is a very exciting time.

T: That is exciting to hear that these big companies are now coming to the table because that will trickle down into other industries and small to midsize entrepreneurs who possibly supply those companies. That’s going to have a major impact on green industries and that growth sector.

A: Yes!

T: I was watching CSPAN when President Obama signed the stimulus package and there was a guy speaking who had a solar panel manufacturing company and he shared how his company has tripled over the last three years.

A: Oh wow!

T: He essentially hires a new employee each month and how the stimulus package would help him continue that growth so he would not have to lay anyone off. That is really optimistic. I try now not to watch the news because it is too depressing but if you read about green things and green industries it is so inspirational. Seeing schools doing it, cities doing it…This is a growth industry. And having a last name Green, I feel it is important for me.

A: [laughing] You are already well positioned.

T: I always joke that “I was Green before it was in”. I like to hear that those companies are now moving into strategy. It’s almost like reverse engineering not to have any waste. That is fantastic. I went to Germany and visited V/S International, a corporate and educational furniture manufacturing. They were very much using the same methodology. I was able to tour the factory and talk to the employees and that informed me a lot about the manufacturing process and all the stuff that comes from it. Stuff being a technical term [laugh]. You want to reduce stuff or use it. They are very exceptional at taking waste and recycling it into other furniture. I live in Clayton County close to the airport in Atlanta and it is a major transportation hub. I am always thinking about new business ventures so I thought that at least I could get informed and share that information. There are many people that also want to be informed so why not blog about it. I can create a calling around it or marketing around it. I can help you out and you can help me out. That is how it is done. Most people do not know where to start.

A: I will send you a link to our series homepage. If you want to fill in anything it is best to look there. www.asaseries.com

T: A last question would be about what has surprised you in the industry or what have you sense as a need that has been unfulfilled that could be an opportunity for small or mid-sized entrepreneurs?

A: That’s a great question. There is a big opportunity in energy efficiency. One of the things that US companies have been good about it the energy efficiency as a result of the crisis in the 70s. Now we are coming back to the realization that energy efficiency is essential and it is the first step in carbon management and decreasing dependency on foreign oil. So I think that discussion is coming back on how to cut energy use on a global scale especially if you have international operations. That discussion has been around a long time but it is interesting to see it come back when we are hearing it from the new administration and what companies are focusing on as a first step to becoming sustainable. I think that is a great evolution.

T: Yes. I was at the Georgia Charter School Conference and spoke with a school green cleaning company and she was sharing how many companies and schools are moving to “day cleaning” so they do not have to turn the lights on. I remember growing up in Chicago and going downtown in the evening and seeing all these skyscrapers lit up because of a few cleaning crews in the building. She told me that “day cleaning” can save upwards of 15% on annual energy costs. Now that’s amazing and simple to do. It is good that energy efficiency is coming full circle. I was worried when gas costs came back down that people would go back to their wasteful ways. But the new administration is keeping energy conservation on the forefront.

Well Adrienne, I appreciate you sharing this time with me and being the inaugural interview for the re-launch of Green Revolution.

A: Excellent. I am pleased to speak to you. I look forward to hearing from you.

T: Thanks and have a good day and stay warm.

A: Bye-Bye.

TheStar.com Toronto Edition

New school of thought on building schools
by Christopher Hume
Mar 13, 2009 04:30 AM

Whatever else schools may be, they are also buildings; in many cases, bad buildings. But like everything else, the architecture of learning is undergoing big change….
http://www.thestar.com/article/601609

SLATERPAULL ARCHITECTS GOES GREEN
WITH ANNUAL GREEN CHALLENGE

Denver, CO (March 10, 2009)
SLATERPAULL Architects, a Denver based architecture firm, announces the kick-off of its 3rd annual Green Challenge, a five week commitment to impact the environment. The Green Challenge runs from St. Patricks Day to Earth Day and encourages employees to make at least one significant change to reduce their personal carbon footprint, culminating with a firm wide green activity. This years corporate activity is working with the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment to take the Green Challenge nationwide.

SLATERPAULLs Green Challenge highlights the firms longstanding commitment to sustainable design and environmental responsiveness, nearly 100 percent of SLATERPAULLs technical staff is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accredited, the firm designed the first LEED Gold certified private high school in the state, uses a hybrid vehicle for business travel, hosted a large tree planting event in honor of its 35 year anniversary and recently added a full time sustainable design consultant.

The Green Challenge has been an exciting opportunity to strengthen and promote our firms core values, says Adele Willson, AIA, LEED AP, principal, SLATERPAULL Architects. Our philosophy is centered around designing for a sustainable future and the Green Challenge has helped further amplify this message in the community, our office and our personal lives.

Employee activities throughout the five week challenge include paying bills online, biking or taking public transportation to and from work, installing low flow fixtures, buying locally grown produce and recycling all paper, glass, aluminum and plastic items. The goal is to change old habits or form new ones that positively impact the environment and continue after the challenge is completed.

For more information, visit www.SLATERPAULL.com
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Pasco County Schools Testing Finds Low-Moisture, Dry-Extraction Floor Maintenance Systems Superior Based on Rigorous Performance Standards

School district identifies best practices for enhancing indoor air quality in schools while reducing costs

LAND O’ LAKES, FL – [March 9, 2009] – Pasco County School District (PCSD) today released the results of a comprehensive study conducted to determine the best long-term, sustainable floor care maintenance strategy for its district. Full detail of the results will be presented at the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists International Conference, March 10 – 12, 2009.

The study, conducted by the Pasco County Steering Committee (PCSC), tested five cleaning methods at one of its elementary schools. Each method was conducted by a manufacturer representative. Methods tested included high-flow wet extraction, portable wet extraction, low-moisture encapsulation, low-moisture dry extraction (absorption) and truck-mount wet extraction.

At the conclusion of the four-week testing period, Pasco County Schools’ representatives determined the low-moisture, dry-extraction absorption system best accommodated the school system’s maintenance program. The system was selected based on its reduced cost, the immediate availability of carpet, limited time and resources required, its positive contribution to indoor air quality and its ease of training and operation.

“Some schools are implementing vinyl-composition tile (VCT) and alternative hard floor surface coverings because it is believed hard floor surfaces have a better impact on IAQ and cost less to maintain over the life of the floor,” said Edward Flicker, Custodial Services Coordinator at PCSD. “Our study found that by using the HOST Dry Carpet Cleaning System, we were able to retain the carpet and maintain an optimal learning environment for students without compromising appearance, cost—or IAQ.”

Using low-moisture, dry-extraction absorption maintenance methods, the PCSC was able to restore its 10-year-old, vinyl-backed, nylon-faced carpet to like-new appearance levels, eliminating replacement costs and enabling the school to retain its carpet rather than replace it with alternative floor coverings such as VCT.

Considering that initial purchase costs of carpet with installation are typically higher than VCT, the PCSC still found that the savings from the system were a better value. Overall costs of the low-moisture, dry-extraction maintenance strategy resulted in the following savings:

In a new school construction setting, it would take 4.3 years to recover the cost difference from savings on carpet maintenance compared to VCT maintenance. It would take 9.2 years to recover the total lifecycle cost of carpet with maintenance savings alone compared to VCT.
In a school renovation setting, it would take an estimated 5.28 years to recover the cost difference from savings on carpet maintenance compared to VCT maintenance. It would take 11.7 years to recover the total lifecycle cost of carpet with maintenance savings alone compared to VCT.

“Carpet is the primary floor covering in 45 schools throughout our school system,” added Flicker. “Inadequate maintenance practices resulted in compromises to the appearance of the carpet, downtime, training and budget. With the results from this study, we have been able to find the best floor surface covering and maintenance program to fit our needs.”

About Pasco County Schools

Pasco Country School District is based in Land o’ Lakes, Florida. For more information, go to http://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/.

About Racine Industries Inc.

Founded in 1935 as the Rench Manufacturing Company, Racine Industries Inc. is known for its innovative dry extraction carpet cleaning system which is used in commercial, institutional and residential carpet cleaning worldwide. Racine Industries is headquartered in Racine, Wis. For more information, go to http://www.hostdry.com/.

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On Feb 29th 2008 Charline Evans, a teacher from Wales, sets off on a quest to visit and connect 80 schools around the world. Her journey starts in Wales with the first school visit to Coed-y-Lan Primary school in Pontypridd.

Her route takes her across the 7 continents and through over 30 countries to visit a further 78 schools before returning to Wales for the 80th school, Maes-yr-Haul Primary in Bridgend, South Wales.

Each school visited will be producing a film representing their country and culture. All participating schools will be involved in the tracking and submission of environmental data to help create a worldwide picture of sustainable development and global citizenship through schools and education.

Charline’s travels will also be represented through the virtual character “Cyber Charline” with primary and secondary school pupils being able to create their own animated representations of her journey through the Kahootz application.

This amazing project combines the real and virtual worlds and demonstrates how the world can truly join hands through children and young people to create a better future whilst helping to protect our planet along the way.

Check out Charline’s blog: http://www.aroundtheworldin80schools.com/index.php

Worldwide, 776 million people are illiterate. To address this crisis by providing access to a quality education for all children, there is an urgent need to upgrade the crumbling infrastructure of tens of millions of existing classrooms, and build ten million new classrooms. Meeting this challenge represents the largest building project the world has ever undertaken. In response, Orient Global, Architecture for Humanity and a consortium of partners are launching the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom, the first large-scale initiative to improve the design of classrooms around the world.

Read more…

Hear keynote speech from noted author Russell Ackoff, Ph.D. at the National Summit on School Design

www.archfoundation.org/aaf/audio/Events.Summit.Ackoff.mp3

Cozy up with Randy Fielding for this 24 minute interview with Phorecast’s Christina Jeurling about innovative school design.

Phorecast Podcast

The First National Green Charter Schools Conference took place November 7 to 9 in Madison, Wisconsin. An opening address confirmed that 135 green charter schools have been identified alone in the U.S., and another hundred or two have yet to be identified. As the trend continues, we must be aware of what this will mean for education. Currently most curriculum systems have to be countable and testable. Since there is no one textbook or even library of textbooks that can teach students everything they need to know in the world, we instead need to move towards assessing a students level of success by how we teach children to aspire to ten qualities Professor Bill Cronon identified in his keynote speech, Only Connect. He argues these ten qualities mold a liberally educated person, though such a person does not even exist. For becoming a liberally educated person is not attainable, rather it is a way of life. To attain means to end the learning process.

The qualities that make a liberally educated person:
1. They listen and hear.
2. They read and understand.
3. They can talk with anyone.
4. They can write clearly, persuasively and movingly.
5. They can solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems.
6. They respect vigor.
7. They practice respect, humility, tolerance and self criticism.
8. They understand how to get things done in the world.
9. They nurture and empower the people around them.
10. They follow the words Only Connect to make sense of the world.

Professor Cronon concludes that this list can be embraced best, perhaps, by green charter schools aiming to leave the world a better place. To read the full article by Professor Cronon: http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Cronon_Only_Connect.pdf

Though individual classroom energy usage is usually limited to a single light bulb and a fan, schools in Accra, Ghana are enthusiastically embracing the Alliance’s Green Schools program. Working with the Green Schools program and the Ministry of Education, the Energy Foundation of Ghana identified 18 teachers from five schools who formed the Pilot for the Green Schools/Energy and Environmental Clubs (EECO) program.
Beginning in September, five private primary schools in Accra started offering an energy/environment after-school club using Green School’s hands-on activities to teach children about the role of energy in their lives and the connection between energy and the environment. Because the schools themselves use so little energy, the focus will be on teaching students ways to reduce energy usage at home. The Alliance-sponsored Energy Foundation will be implementing the program and working to expand it to more schools.
The pilot program will form the basis for a national roll out of the program at a later date. It is envisaged that material on energy conservation techniques will be included in primary and middle school curriculum to ensure that primary and middle school students nationwide gain access to energy efficiency knowledge and information. The Alliance can offer extensive experience in developing these materials.

Anyone need something to get excited about? DesignShare case studies, one of our most popular features, are multiplying at the speed of light! Beginning December 1, 2008 we’ll be featuring two case studies per month. That means more innovative ideas, more images, more firm profiles and more buzz over school facility design than ever before.

Interested in having your firm’s latest and greatest school building profiled? You can email me at clare@designshare.com. I aim to pull together information on schools in places that have never been featured before, as well as areas that continue to make headway in creative design. Pushing the envelope is what we do best, and we’re happy to support firms’ efforts to do the same. Stay tuned and look for the next two case studies in the December 2008 e-newsletter!

Cheers,
Clare

Schools all over the world are being reinvented to meet the needs of an ever-changing global economy. The world is shrinking; knowledge is no longer a commodity restricted to the privileged. Developing nations are accessing the information superhighway and have passed some of the super powers. Corporations are consolidating globally and outsourcing to locations with large skilled labor forces.

The goal of the DesignShare Awards is to find those learning environments that meet at the crossroads of innovative design and pioneering educational programs. Three Patterns of Innovation stick out this year: School as the Real-World, Community Involved in the Design Process, and Sustainable Design.

The 2008 winning projects include:
2 Honor Awards
8 Merit Awards
4 Citation Awards
14 Recognized Value Awards

Go to the homepage to see the award winners, commentary and review team for 2008.

Tiffany Green
Director of Communications

Virginia Educational Facility Planners - 2009 Annual Conference
March 2-3, 2009
Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, Roanoke, Virginia

Virginia’s chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (VEFP) is accepting proposals for its annual conference to be held March 2-3, 2009 in Roanoke, Virginia. The conference attracts a broad range of professionals dedicated to the design, construction, operation and funding of educational facilities including architects, engineers, builders, directors of facilities, directors of planning, superintendents, school board members and members of the community at large. Each year conference planners attempt to balance forward-thinking ideas and practical applications with an emphasis on tools and technology that will advance the dialogue. Past presenters include Ian Jukes, Ed Mazria, Stephen Kellert, and Mark Milliron.

Interested presenters should submit proposals based on one of the following suggested topics: policies/procedures, planning, project management/delivery, research, safety/security, school size, sustainable schools, teaching/learning styles, technology or another related focus.

Proposals should be submitted to the CEFPI’s on-line speakers’ database (http://speakers.cefpi.org) by Friday, September 12, 2008. First-time users will be asked to register (free of charge). When prompted, please indicate that your presentation is available for “Chapter Workshops/Meetings.” You will also be prompted to include the following information with your proposal:

• Presentation Title
• Program Issue
• Presentation Abstract (approximately 400 words)
• Names of Presenters - include a brief bio for each
• Presentation Education Objectives
• Need for Opposing View Presenter
• Special Presentation Needs or Room Layout Preferences

All speakers must register for the conference and pay the regular conference fee. All speakers must provide a digital copy of their presentation seven days prior to the conference.

Questions? Please contact Bill Bradley (bbradley@shwgroup.com) or Tina Carr (tcarr@rrmm.com).

The mission of Virginia’s Chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International is to promote creative and responsible planning of school facilities, to foster professional development, and to exchange best practice knowledge of Virginia school facilities in order to provide the best possible learning environment for all students.

Classroom Design for Living and Learning with Autism
by Clare L. Vogel, as published in the May/June 2008 issue of Autism Asperger’s Digest

Imagine taking an exam with someone turning the overhead lights on and off rapidly, construction workers drilling cement just outside the window, and acrobats tossing bowling pins around you in dizzying circles. Forget about the exam, right? A silent room with no distractions would seem like just the ticket. That is, until your own thoughts begin swimming around in your head, that gentle humming light bulb sounds like an army of howler monkeys, your skin suddenly itches, and the temperature seems hot. Uh – what exam?
Everyone experiences an uncomfortable classroom at some time or another. Thinking back to grade school, you can probably still remember a particular teacher’s noxious perfume, or the headache-inducing glare of shiny waxed floors on the first day back to school. These sensory assaults may be magnified beyond normal comprehension for someone living and learning with autism. While proactive schools nationwide are revamping their special education curricula to support increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), one area not being as successfully revamped is the facility design to house these new programs.
If you talk to an architect or contractor you will discover they know little about this distinctive population and its needs. Contractors follow codes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, but do not realize these codes only skim the surface of needs for many students. With limited design standards, is it even possible to build a classroom environment that fits the needs of such a diverse population as children with autism? A growing group of professionals say yes.
To follow are eight design standards and solutions gathered from interviews with people most directly affected by autism - parents, teachers, and therapists, as well as college students and adults with autism. While they are primarily intended for educational facilities, these strategies can be applied to bedrooms, family rooms and play spaces. By no means are these performance standards intended to limit a designer’s creativity; on the contrary, they open doors to more creative solutions than ever before.

1. Flexible & Adaptable
Flexibility, which can also be thought of as adjustability or adaptability, is the first and most widely agreed upon standard. It seems simple enough. However, defining flexibility in terms of design is more complex than one might imagine, especially since it means different things for different users. In the case of designs for children with autism, flexibility will not mean constant change, but rather being able to transform an environment on a moment’s notice.
Furnishings, spatial arrangements and lighting solutions are good places to start since they can contribute to a design that aids in adapting programs to changes in children’s needs. Students should have the option to rearrange and subdivide spaces. When offered flexible furnishings and open-ended materials, children engage in a range of activities that foster their development and learning, become more competent in their physical abilities, and develop self-confidence and independence (Curtis & Cramer, 2003). Rolling shelving units and furniture pieces that are easy to move and can serve multiple purposes are helpful. Look for shelving units that can act as storage spaces, blackboards, and screen partitions. Teachers and students can both benefit from the flexibility and spatial variety that portable screens or dividers offer, instantly creating smaller spaces within larger ones for group or individual work. Try risers or movable platforms that also allow children to create new arrangements.

2. Non-Threatening
For a physical space to be non-threatening the layout should feel welcoming and foster encounters, communication, and relationships. Settings should provide restful, restorative places and offer a sense of security.
Provide high perching spots (child balconies) and low, enclosed spaces (child caves) above and at floor level, shallow enough so a teacher can monitor children. Consider providing larger spaces for older children so groups can gather. However, those spaces should be flexible and temporarily divisible in case large-group work simply becomes overwhelming (Moore, G. et al, 1979). Use elements that are soft and can provide sensory input, such as beanbag chairs, stuffed couches, carpeting, swings, clay, and water. For children who tend to orbit as a way of maintaining control of their bodies, it is wise to avoid large open spaces, which can easily turn into dead space.

3. Non-Distracting
A non-distracting room will be free of clutter, relatively odor-free, and visually and aurally restorative. In other words, the room will decrease sensory overload. The classroom arrangement should contribute to the child’s grasp of order and space. A clean and distinct environment helps the child with autism focus his attention on learning instead of irrelevant stimuli. A woman with Asperger’s Syndrome commented, “Bodies can be drowned out by so much stuff.”
Eliminate nonessential visual materials such as posters and disorderly signage, and block out temporary distractions with screens and window shades. Inadequate storage space, a major gripe from most teachers, also makes a room look chaotic and cluttered. Develop storage space outside and inside that doubles as some other architectural feature or furniture element (Curtis & Carter, 2003). To avoid the flickering and humming from fluorescent lights, try reducing the intensity of lights by switching to fewer bulbs, natural light, and homier lamps for task lighting. Finally, block out mechanical noises from old heaters or fans with sound-absorbing carpeting, fabrics, and furnishings. One man with autism who has strong sensitivities to fluorescents and loud noises admitted his needs vary from day to day. “It boils down to how much I can tolerate on any given day.”

4. Predictable
Everyone prefers a building that is easy to navigate. Predictability is key, particularly for populations who need consistency and visual cueing. Because children with ASD tend to be visual learners, a frequent solution is pinning up bright schedules, picture boards and labels around the classroom. Teachers unintentionally run the risk of reversing their efforts to make a room less distracting. Instead, they should consider what makes classrooms truly imageable (Lynch, 1964) and legible (Weisman, 1981).
When urban planners decide how to arrange a city, various elements are thought to increase both recognition and legibility. These elements also apply to micro-environments like schools. Create evident paths (colored tape or painted footprints), activity pockets (pods of work spaces with various tasks), neighborhood-like districts (named hallways or color-coded zones), bold and memorable edges (murals, half walls or fences) and landmarks (a sculpture, indoor garden or aquarium). Use signs, numbering systems and clear views to build a sense of predictability. Provide users with environmental information through smell, sight, sound and touch, while being cognizant of strong distastes for certain things. Individuals with autism often have trouble multi-tasking. If they are listening intently to something, they might not be able to see, as if only one sense is turned on at once (Grandin, 2007). By offering multiple sensory cues, designers can come closer to insuring all users understand their design.

5. Controllable
Predictability is one step towards controllability (Sherrod & Cohen, 1978). When a child can understand his or her environment, emotional security rises and the child feels an increased sense of control.
Because children on the autism spectrum have specific social challenges, personal space may be more of a priority than for a typically developing child. Classrooms supporting these children must allow for varied social interactions and provide opportunities for choice-making. All people feel more comfortable and in control when they have a transition zone between private and public spaces. Just as a porch separates the house from the street, a transition space in the form of an alcove or differentiated hallway separates the classroom from the main corridor, providing important environment information from a safe, defensive position. Many adults with ASD reported that having a tight, contained space nearby (such as a closet, or even two vertical mattresses to wedge one’s body between) gave them a sense of control and release.

6. Sensory-Motor Attuned
Children tend to have puzzling sensory integration needs and challenges, often ignoring their visual environment. They may need help in directing their attention to sensory information that will allow them to interact more effectively (Ayres, 2005). Sensory-motor needs can fluctuate with age, from person to person, and from day to day in the same child, making it important to plan and fine-tune an environment that is most suitable.
Sensory gyms are wonderful for learning and playing, but schools must not stop here. Every environment a child enters at school should provide sensory opportunities for exploration. This also provides sensory experiences for neurotypical children, which as an autism consultant who also has Asperger’s stresses, is “extremely important for classroom inclusion.” An elementary school teacher in Madison, Wisconsin, described a school where she worked previously that did not have a sensory room. “You had to go outside to do swinging or to run. There’s not always that luxury (to go outside)…we used a wheelchair ramp that was in the school and we would move up and down the wheelchair ramp doing relay races. It’s much better to have a space designed for that because kids get more used to it.” A special education teacher in Hustisford, Wisconsin, built a calm room “where kids knew they could have their meltdowns.” Numerous sensory experiences exist that can be created and tailored with a variety of textures and flooring materials, sensory tables filled with interesting objects, scratchy surfaces or music.

7. Safe
For children with autism, creating a safe environment can be a challenge. Designers and teachers need to pay attention to both physical hazards (wiring, open stairways, unscreened windows, loose flooring, toxic paints, etc.) and emotional safety and security. Children with ASD are often prone to seizures and behaviors like tantrums or “stimming,” where injury to self and others can occur.
A Madison-based speech language pathologist thinks of safety “not in the sense of being sterile, but in being challenging but safe, eliminating, or at least reducing, the need for a lot of rules.” Transparency in windows and doorways is another method of easing transitions and making a child feel safe. For youngsters, this provides a place to wave goodbye to parents; for older students, transparency provides a sense of protection when they know others can see them. Soft surfaces can reduce the potential for injury; though beware of chemicals, odors and off-gassing in surfaces such as foam or carpeting. Lastly, small, enclosed spaces tend to enhance feelings of closeness, intimacy, and safety. An occupational therapist in Madison says “Some kids start off a lot better in smaller spaces like a tent, with as little in the space as possible, just a few choice items.” Individual and small-group workstations should provide a certain amount of privacy.

8. Non-Institutional
Feeling truly at home in their surroundings will allow children to relax and retain more information. Classrooms designed with catalog furniture are often sterile or the opposite - overstimulating. Such environments can also remind students all too much of the clinical settings at doctors’ offices.
Adding softer lighting and home furnishings, even for storage cabinets and other functional equipment, can offset this feeling. Colors suited for homes (warmer hues, skin tones and pastels), soft furnishings, interesting textures, thoughtfully placed works of art, and plants and objects from the natural world can turn a conventional classroom into a cozy, community gathering place. If a time-out center is needed, think of alternative environments such as a small tent or fort rather than a sterile office setting. Essentially, a non-institutional school embraces all seven of the other design performance standards previously listed.

There is no perfect design treatment for autism, just as there is no perfect set of dietary restrictions, medications or therapies. However, professional designers, school administrators, classroom teachers and parents can learn much from user experts in identifying attributes of a supportive, “least restrictive” environment. It is indeed both practical and hopeful to believe that good design for students with special needs is good design for all.

References
Ayres, A.J. (2005). (reprint) Sensory integration and the child: Understanding hidden sensory challenges. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Curtis, D., Carter, M. (2003). Designs for living and learning: Transforming early childhood environments. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Grandin, T. (2007). Lecture PowerPoint Handouts, Milwaukee, WI.
Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
Merritt, E., Beaudin, J., Cassidy, C., Myler, P. (2005). Magnet and specialized schools of the future: A focus on change. Chapter 6. Lanham, Maryland: Fletcher-Thompson, Inc. and Scarecrow Education.
Moore, Cohen, Oertel, van Ryzin. (1979). Designing environments for handicapped children. (pp. 15-51). NY: Publishing Center for Cultural Resources.
Moore, G., Lane, C., Hill, A., Cohen, U., McGinty, T. (1979). Recommendations for child care centers. Children’s Environment Project, Center for Architecture and Urban Planning Research. University of WI – Milwaukee.
Sherrod & Cohen. (1978). When density matters: Environmental control as a determinant of crowding effects in laboratory and residential settings. Population & Environment. (pp. 189-202) Vol. 1, Number 3/September 1978.
Weisman, G. (1981). Evaluating architectural legibility – way finding in the built environment. Environment and Behavior.

AIA Schools in a Flat World Conference
September 10-13, 2008

Helsinki, Finland

http://www.aia.org/helsinki

Globalization now affects every industry, as journalist Thomas L. Friedman illustrated in the bestseller, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century.

We invite you to attend “Schools in a Flat World,” a conference that will explore educational design solutions ranging from a small Arctic high school to a 100,000-student university in India. This gathering will attract architects, administrators, and school building professionals from six continents, who will share their unique challenges and design solutions.

Helsinki and its architectural treasures will form a memorable backdrop for meeting, learning from, and networking with education-facility architects from Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Best of all, “Schools in a Flat World” will deliver a program packed with sights, sessions, and stories that you will find nowhere else. Guided tours will visit Helsinki schools that show how design and construction can improve and enhance the learning environment.

Visit http://www.aia.org/helsinki for more information or to register.

1. 21ST CENTURY SKILLS: BRINGING PROBLEM BASED LEARNING INTO THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

“The magic of our schools is that they kill curiosity and creativity. . . I’ve met lots of smart six year olds, but not one interesting sixteen year old.”
[Gore Vidal, in an interview on British Television shown on 18th May 2008]

The arguments for delivering 21st century skills to our students have been well made and are generally accepted by educators and parents alike. We are all determined - we have been since 1983 with the publication of A Nation at Risk - to ensure that things will change. The difficulties arise when we make an attempt to change what is actually going on in most of our classrooms on a day-to-day basis.

We know that the students who sit in our classrooms are markedly different from us, their parents. We know from daily experience that they learn differently, that we are teaching too slowly and linearly for this generation of tech savvy, multiple processors. We have research that tells us that collaborative learning is one of the answers for this generation. We increasingly use PBL in higher education, in medical, technology and business schools. The benefits of the approach are demonstrable. The interconnected global world we now inhabit requires us to learn how to work effectively in teams as well as on our own. The decisions we make, with the information we have access to, are now frequently too complex for one person to make on his or her own. We know that existing at the forefront of the World and being successful in the future that we are creating is about connectivity, innovation and speed.

We came to problem-based learning through a somewhat different door: discovering that creativity and innovation had all but disappeared from our children by the time they reached the third grade.

The shift from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’ that takes place at this very young age exerts a pressure to look for the one RIGHT answer and forces children to stifle their innate curiosity and desire for exploration. It also begins the process of competitive independent work when what we increasingly know we need as a society is collaborative, interdependent learning that develops thinking, creativity and possibility. Our children are VERY smart! They understand the system and the stakes! They play the game we have invented for them!

As the authors of a successful pilot project focusing on introducing a problem-based curriculum into elementary schools, we have become very excited by the responses to and research results from our approach. We believe PBL should be first introduced at the elementary school level. Doing this will provide a model for learning and working which will enable students to learn at a faster, multi-sensory pace, begin the process of building all the 21st Century skills we are looking for in our future workforce and provide them relevant, stimulating environments that motivate them to become genuine lifelong learners.

We invite you to watch the video and join the discussion.

Isla Reddin and Sarah Frossell are partners in KiCubed.
www.KiCubed.com
Please contact the writers at isla.reddin@gmail.com

2. ADDITIONAL PROJECT BASED LEARNING (PBL) Resources
Videos….

Minnesota New Country School - Student developed video with everything you need to know about Project Based Learning.
Minnesota New Country was the first Charter School in the United States.

Woorana Park Primary School, Australia - This video shows how the school was renovated to allow for more PBL. It also focuses on how the staff works together on Team Teaching. http://www.woorannaparkps.vic.edu.au/downloads.htm

PBL Online Management System…
Project Foundry is a proven online project based learning management system built by practitioners who understood the value of the pedagogy and inherent need for a streamlined tool that engages students and ensures meaningful academic results.
http://www.projectfoundry.org