Hillside Elementary School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

1)What exemplary ideas do the designs contain that enhance learning?

Children will be the focus of the district’s new Elementary School. This facility will be a center of community where children, parents, teachers and neighbors come together for life-long learning. Will provide opportunities for teacher collaboration, integration of curriculum, and flexibility of program. The facility provides space for individual, small group, and large group instruction. Will provide an environment that feels like “home”. Literacy will be emphasized and “state of the art” technology will be available for use.

The “spirit of the school is should make the students feel safe, loved, proud, included, comfortable, accepted, joyful, excited, connected, successful, hopeful, nurtured, confident, and curious.

The school building needs to provide opportunities for spontaneous learning; adequate and efficient teaching spaces in a variety of sizes; adequate storage spaces for project based learning; the latest technologies that allow for future flexibility; a “dining atmosphere” in lieu of a “cafeteria”; display spaces for student work; and performance spaces.

2)What innovation in the planning, programming and design process supported the realization of these exemplary ideas?

To achieve these educational goals the facility design team incorporated the following in its’ building design:

At the heart of this elementary school is the Hearth Room. The fireplace located within the Hearth Room provides visual and symbolic warmth that welcomes all who enter. The Hearth Room is the gathering space of the building. It is the place where students, teachers and the community come together to celebrate learning and diversity.

Large group spaces are provided through flexible “living rooms” at each grade level. These living rooms provide space for all students of a section to gather for instruction, performances, and demonstrations. Children will have the opportunity to design these spaces around yearly curriculum themes.

A “Living Wall” will extend through the hallways linking the living rooms to the Hearth room, art room, and media center. This “Living Wall” will have the ability to change over time and display student work. The scale of the wall and age appropriate work will embody the maturation process of children.

The building design is flexible in its use of technology now and consideration is given for ease of adaptation in the future. Interactive technology will provide hands-on learning in each classroom, the technology production studio, and the central “Hearth” room.

Conference/special needs rooms are provided in both classroom wings for small group tutoring and collaboration.

Flexible music rooms provide performance opportunities in the dining room, music rooms, gymnasium, and Hearth Room.

Volunteer spaces are provided throughout the building.

Classroom spaces will provide natural daylight to increase learning and reduce energy needs.

The nurse’s room will have the ability to serve as an after hours clinic for the community.

The library will have the ability to become part of the public library system.

Outdoor spaces will be developed as outdoor classrooms.

A learning place with a defined spirit will be created. This place will become a center of community where all are welcome to contribute and learn - where children are nurtured and lifted up.

Educator Narrative

The primary goal of our elementary program is to provide a quality child-centered, comprehensive program to meet the needs of our community of learners and the changing needs of our society.

We believe children are our primary focus. We want the children in our elementary schools to . . .

be confident learners, find joy in learning, and celebrate success.

be respectful of diversity.

be self-directed, responsible, and accountable learners.

have equitable access to quality materials and instruction.

have time and space to learn and research both independently and in groups.

We believe that our curriculum and instruction are the foundation of our learning process. Curriculum and instruction need to . . .

enhance children’s curiosity and investigation.

provide diverse learning opportunities.

provide developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

be enhanced with technology and multimedia.

provide interdisciplinary connections.

be fun and motivating.

be continually shared and developed by teams.

align with district standards and benchmarks.

include authentic and varietal assessments.

Therefore, we believe that our facilities need to . . .

provide a welcoming environment that is safe and aesthetically pleasing.

provide a physically and emotionally healthy environment.

support and enhance curriculum and instruction.

have common standards across all buildings.

provide opportunities for growth and expansion.

have a flexible structure in utilization of space and traffic flow.

provide accommodations that are appropriate for age and size.

The school district has developed guiding principles for building a learning community for the 21st century. It is the goal of the facility design team that the new elementary school will embody these following principles:

Continuous Improvement — Quality is a design consideration in all decision-making. Ongoing feedback provides students, staff and community with vital information. Students, staff and parents are accountable for student learning, and the district continuously develops more ways to measure and assess the quality of its educational programming.

Personalized Learning - Meaningful learning for each individual is our emphasis. Appropriate educational experiences are provided for all students. Learning as a lifelong activity is encouraged. All stakeholders, including students, are resources as a true learning organization develops.

Optimum Use of Human Resources - People contribute to the district by sharing their talents. Students, staff and community work with one another in the learning process. The district allocates its resources to provide the best opportunities for all learners.

Integration - The coordination of resources, programs and services is interrelated. Subjects in the curriculum are integrated. Learning takes place in classrooms with multi-age/multi-ability groups. Technology continues to be an important tool for instruction. Involvement of all stakeholders in the development of the curriculum is encouraged.

Diversity - We value differences in others and find ways to share and appreciate those differences. Curricula and relationships reflect this belief. A wide variety of new and diverse resources are pursued. Seeking out many perspectives before decisions are made is important.