School Design Studio

The First Green Charter Schools Conference!

The first Green Charter Schools Conference is set to begin Nov 7-9, 2008 at the Nelson Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The goals of the conference include professional development for educators; opportunities for collaboration among green schools, environmental scientists, and eco-organizations; and public education regarding green charter schools.

As the conference site states, "Charter schools are innovative public schools that provide educational choices for families and school-site accountability for results. Today, more than 1.2 million children in 40 states and the District of Columbia attend one of more than 4,300 public charter schools. By enacting charter school laws, states have created the capacity for change, expanded educational opportunities for young people and opened a new-schools sector in public education.

Among the innovative charter schools emerging in public education are a growing number of green charter schools with environment-focused educational programs and practices. The Green Charter Schools Network, a new national non-profit organization, was launched in February 2008. With a vision of every person being environmentally literate and practicing sustainability in their community, the Network supports the establishment, enhancement and advancement of public charter schools with environment-focused educational programs and practices."

I am lucky to be among the dozens of speakers at the conference where I plan on talking about using the school building itself as a three-dimensional textbook.

Tia Nelson, daughter of Governor Gaylord Nelson who launched the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, is set to host the conference. She states in a Capital Times opinion article, "As a result of impassioned summertime conversations about the present urgency of my father's words, environmental scientists, educators and other citizens from throughout the United States will travel to storied central Wisconsin in November for a seminal discussion of the dual imperative for public schools to recognize sustainable "green" values as a critical aspect of citizenship and to use charter-school operating arrangements to research and develop the comprehensive environmental education and conservation curricula we need to dramatically change our culture, preserve natural capital and enjoy a good life that does not deprive future generations.

It has become clear to many of us who have been focused on environmental issues that it is now critical for our nation to rethink the ways public education serves its crucial role in the development of a sustainable society."

Incorporating Green Technology in Schools Now a Real Trend

In an article by Michelle Davis, in Education Week, entitled GoinGreen, green technology is quickly becoming a standard part of the school curriculum and planning.

"In California, schools are downloading satellite data to predict the weather and better control how much water they use to maintain their fields and other outdoor landscaping. In Georgia, a district is selling its old computers to a recycler as long as that company agrees to refurbish and resell them cheaply in the community. And in one district in Colorado, school computers are put in “hibernation” every evening to cut down on energy consumption and costs.

Schools around the country are tapping new technology to be more environmentally friendly, sometimes saving money in the long run, and showing students how to take a leadership role in “green” initiatives. “A few years ago, when you mentioned green techniques in schools, people would say, ‘It’s too expensive; it’s not practical,’?” says Ying Wang, the program manager for the Collaborative for High Performance Schools’ new-facilities program in the 708,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District. “Now, it’s quite a movement.”

Sir Ken talks in depth on Creativity and the Power of the Imaginative Mind

Sir Ken Robinson, who first made a splash on TED.com outlining his book, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative now is having a chance to expand on his educational reform ideas for public education at the Apple Education Leadership Summit, a gathering in San Francisco of more than one hundred school superintendents from around the world. Watch Part One and Part Two of his talk on Edutopia.

Hazelwood School For The Multiple Sensory Impaired

The Hazelwood School for the Multiple Sensory Impaired in Glasgow, UK took top honors in the 2008 Design Share competition this year. The school was designed by Gordon Murry + Alan Dunlop architects.

 

 

 

   
Hazelwood School: Why Does Design Matter? from David Hutchison on Vimeo."an A+DS Educational Design Video production.

As Tiffany Green reports in her Design Share commentary, "Hazelwood caters to 60 students with multiple disabilities, aged from 2 to 19. Each student has a combination of two or more of the following impairments: visual, hearing, mobility or cognitive. The design focused on creating a safe, stimulating environment for pupils and staff. The architect set out to eliminate any institutional feel and worked to avoid conventional details, creating a tailored design that incorporates visual, aural and tactile clues. The school is set within a landscaped green adjacent to a large public park, as is surrounded by mature lime and beach trees . The building snakes through the site, curving around the existing trees, creating a series of small garden spaces and maximizing the potential for more intimate outdoor teaching (learning?) environments. The choice of materials was of great importance. The architect developed a palette of highly textured natural materials that are stimulating to touch and smell. Naturally weathering timber, reclaimed slate tiles and zinc were used on the exterior.

The school’s head teacher says: “When our children leave this school, they will not go into jobs or go and live in their own flat or house- they will always need to be supported. Adults who are blind and have learning difficulties can lead passive lives. But the more independence they have, the more choices they will be able to make and the more stimulating their lives will be.”

Innovative Case Studies in School Design

For the past eight years, I've been participating on a jury of Design Share's annual awards program that has included some of the most respected educators and architects in the field of school design in the world. We have been fond of calling it more of a Collaboration rather than a Competition as we are looking for the innovative design thinking. The 2008 award winners are posted on School Construction News.

Design Share I think is THE leading source of innovative school design case studies on the planet. The site now has over 400 case studies from 30 different countries.

I wrote a commentary on the very first Design Share Awards Program in 2000 that I think still holds today. As I stated then, "The Awards 2000 Program focused less on aesthetics and more on the creation of effective learning environments, making it unique among awards programs that traditionally recognize outstanding design. Our jurors rewarded schools that demonstrate thoughtful and rigorous evaluation of educational facility planning, management, and use. They looked for innovative design solutions that responded to current educational reforms, including small schools, learning communities, urban community schools, and charter schools."

If you have a project you'd like to have submitted, no matter who you are, planner, architect, parent, teacher or student (that would be cool), look forward to the 2010 awards. I would enjoy reviewing them!

Guerilla Educators engage young people in green school design

Readers to my blog may be interested in a blog site managed by my colleague and good friend, John Sole of Philadelphia, Guerilla Educators that "provides the vital links between educational facilities, architects, planners, designers and the teachers and learners who use those spaces".  John has been compiling quite a few good videos that document the process of engaging youth in green school design through project learning experiences.

One particular charrette I like is a 7 minute  compilation of charrette design processes and reporting out at York Suburban School District and Lankenau High School, in Philadelphia conducted with yet another colleague, David Schrader of SchraderGroup Architects. If there is any doubt that kids can be intimately involved in design of professionals, this video dispels that myth.

In a project-based service learning course, David and John work with 4th graders to help them understand green school design by developing a eight week course.

Generation G

This is the generation, Generation G, that will solve the environmental problems we've created with our planet. Listen to what young people at the Sidwell Friends school have to say about their sense of responsibility toward the planet, about their new environmentally sensitive school, and their role as teachers of their parents.