Crosswinds Arts and Science Middle School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

This year round program of the East Metro Integration District integrates arts and science into all subject areas and emphasizes hands-on, project-based work to help students understand the connections between what they are learning and the real world.

DESIGN IDEAS THAT ENHANCE LEARNING
Representing a new direction in the design of middle schools, three major components enhance learning at the school: dynamic spaces that allow integrated, experiential learning; the incorporation of presentation and performance spaces; and spaces that meet the unique needs of middle-level learners.

The arts and science emphasis encourages an integrated learning experience where art informs the presentation of science and science influences art. As a result multi-level “home bases” were created around a central core or “heart”. The “heart” provides flexible presentation space for the whole school while housing dining and administration facilities. In keeping with the arts and science focus, gallery/display areas in the central area, as well as in each home base, present student work. Presentation spaces were designed on several levels so students would learn important presentation skills and also help them “learn twice” by teaching.

Arranged around the performance heart, six two-story home bases are designed for 100 students each. Within each home base a variety of spaces meet the unique needs of middle-level learners. Bodies are changing, intellects are developing and social awareness is being refined; they need to be nurtured, but also have freedom to explore. Personal relationships with peers and adults, especially important at this age, are encouraged in the open design of the space. Home bases enable each student to work with an interdisciplinary team of teachers in a personal and meaningful way. Each home base is made up of personal workstations, a presentation area, a project lab, conference space, and seminar and staff rooms. This combination of spaces enables students to work individually, in small groups, and in larger groups - meeting the learning and social needs of this age level and providing opportunities for project-based learning.

INNOVATION IN THE PLANNING, PROGRAMMING & DESIGN PROCESS
The educational program envisioned an environment where students are immersed in hands-on project learning, provided with means to inform and describe what they learn, and surrounded by presentation venues to develop performance skills.

As part of the planning process each of the original six participating districts (ten now participate) was represented on a 30-person Design Committee that included parents, administrators, community and board members. Teachers participated in the Design Committee and as a separate Teacher Team. The combination of the ideas and visions of people representing different constituencies was compounded because the school being planned followed no model or predecessors and during most of the planning process had no building site.

The Architects began the design process by creating an overall environment informed by metaphors suggested by the Design Committee: Italian hill town, arts festival, a house, a campfire. Given the strong educational vision and inclusive design process a one-of-a-kind school that meets the precise demands of student and program was developed.

Educator Narrative

This school was created to bring urban and suburban students together in an environment that celebrates and affirms not only the diversity of the community but also the spirit of the adolescent child. Ideas for the facility grew out of a program design that includes universally recognized best practices for this age-group, such as a year-round schedule with periodic intersession breaks, team teaching and “looping” with core teachers, small learning communities (“houses”), hands-on interdisciplinary curriculum, exploratory experiences, and magnet focus areas (art and science), which allow each student to participate fully and incorporate prior knowledge in a meaningful way.

A three-day planning session during the visioning stage of the school’s creation brought teachers and district personnel together with students, parents and community members to imagine the best environment for this kind of program. Each stakeholder group discussed and built models of their “ideal” school. While adult ideas emphasized modern design and innovation, students wanted a school that was open so they could stay connected with friends in an environment that felt like a home. They also wanted spaces in the school that “belonged to them”, rather than belonging to their teachers. The final design included many of these “kid” ideas and consequently is much easier for kids to understand intuitively than for adults who come with preconceived ideas of what a school should look like.

In its second year of use, the school continues to delight students and parents with its openness, natural light, bright colors, and asymmetric shapes and spaces. It challenges teachers who are used to buildings built for adult convenience and ease of supervision. Four original members of the teacher planning team are still on the faculty and are available to articulate the rationale for the building’s unique features. As new staff members use the building in the way it was envisioned, they too begin to enjoy its opportunities. Rather than narrowing choices for learners so adults have less to do, this school offers choices and challenges adults to think about what learning needs to take place in order for students to take advantage of these opportunities in a safe and appropriate way. As they get to know the building better, staff have worked together with students to develop “operating procedures” to accommodate these learning opportunities.

The true beauty of the building is that using it will never be simple. Teachers and students will always find new ways to “live” within it and with these new ways will come new challenges in supervision, scheduling, teaming, etc. Learning in this school will never stagnate into the same patterns over and over. This is the way education should be; a continually evolving, constructivist process negotiated by learners and the adults that work with them. The excellence of an educational facility should be judged by the extent to which it promotes this process.