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Technology Is Changing the Way Kids Learn
… And the Classrooms in Which They Do It.

Advertising supplement provided by Paxton / Patterson
By Stephen H. Daniels

3. Is there a preferred or ideal process for interacting with school representatives to ensure that the design and resulting facility will support current and future programs and pedagogy?

We have found success with the creation of a Steering Committee at the beginning of the project. This committee consists of representatives from the school board, staff, administration, students, maintenance and the community. This group is the "sounding board" for generating new ideas, building concepts, building consensus and distribution of information.

The broad representation this committee provides, assures the creation of a building which meets the needs of all the user groups. Besides meeting with the Steering Committee, we meet with each of the groups they represent to share concepts, receive detailed information, resolve issues and give updates on progress.

Filtering ideas through the Steering Committee to the groups they represent and then back to the Committee is a very effective way to share ideas challenge thinking, gather information and build consensus.

ATS&R - Armstrong Torseth Skold & Rydeen, Inc.

• We believe the relationship between a school and its architect must be interactive, and the more the school is willing to participate, the better. Our process begins with getting "shareholder" involvement. We prefer to get participation from all shareholders, because the people who may be the most critical of the process will create challenges than can lead to a better solution. If the administrators or boards don't choose to involve the entire staff, it is important to have an identified focus group comprised of those people that will be most affected by changes and have key roles in making decisions.
• Next the shareholders or focus group must develop a shared vision. At Antioch High School, before we every began developing a master plan, the school board had developed a 40-page vision statement that outlined a typical day in the school ¾ what a student would see while walking down the halls of the school. That vision drove our master plan.
• Next the group should identify their current and future needs. At this stage they should be charged with raising the bar and looking beyond the immediate issues. This is the opportunity to change their educational environment, and we encourage our clients to spend an appropriate amount of time scenario planning. At this point in the process we may encourage the group to look at completed spaces in other schools, universities and industries, to help think about future needs and possibilities.
• Schools should also use this time to dream. They should allow their architect to use the same creativity that's expected in designing how the building looks to be used in the planning and programming of the interior spaces.
• Finally, we help the group prioritize its needs and balance those needs against the resources at hand to come up with a final wish list. Our goal is to create a space that will work 50 years in the future. Architects need to use their knowledge to ask the right questions and their experience to serve as the leader in this process.

O'Donnell Wicklund Pigozzi and Peterson Architects Incorporated

 

David Garcia,Asst. Principal Chris Alcala', Tech. Ed. Instructor	Manual Arts HS ('01) Los Angeles U.S.D.Los Angeles, CA	CAREERplus Multi-Media· ECMS	323-232-1121, ext. 2145dgarci23@lausd.k12.ca.us
David Greenwald, Technology Ed. Instructor Lucinda Nares' Clear, Principal	Mendez Fundamental Intermediate ('00) Santa Ana U.S.D. Santa Ana, CA	Paxton ActionLabs Multi-Media ECMS	714-972-7800 dgreenwald@
Deidre Weber, Family Consumer Sciences Instructor Jan Horman, Principal	Toll M.S. ('01) Glendale U.S.D. Glendale, CA	Growing Up Ready Multi-Media ECMS	818-244-8414 Dedeweber@aol.com