Front Page: Learning Environments
By Theresa Kelly Gegen
No matter when you went to school, it’s likely you remember what your classrooms looked and even felt like.
I remember my second-grade classroom like it was yesterday, which it very much wasn’t. It was enormous, with high ceilings and large windows to the top, built over clanking pinkish-beige metal radiators. I remember one morning, sitting at my square lift-top desk, one of eight in a row, looking up and out those looming windows. I sat mesmerized by the biggest, fluffiest snowflakes I ever saw, before Mrs. North kindly brought my attention back to the important work of second grade. Then school was let out early that afternoon, so the buses could beat the accumulation.
Or, maybe you remember your high school gym, or the elementary cafetorium. Maybe it’s the playground, chemistry lab, or the band room you emotionally connect with these years later, or perhaps the principal’s office.
In this issue of the Illinois School Board Journal, we are joined by learning environment experts from across the state. This includes two projects that, while updating school facilities for 21st-century learning, also honored the history of the buildings as well as the important connections people have with the classrooms they learned in. I’d like to thank the IASB Service Associates for their contributions to this issue of the Journal. IASB Service Associates are firms that have established exemplary records for providing quality products and services to schools and have demonstrated an interest in advancing public education. Member firms represent appraisal services, architects/engineers, building construction, computer software/supplies/services, consulting, environmental services, financial services, human resource consulting, insurance, office equipment, and more. You may encounter Service Associates at Division Meetings or the Joint Annual Conference. Or, maybe your district is working with some of them now, on work, products, and services in your schools.
This issue was made even better with the help of my colleague in Communications, Bridget Kusturin. She first connected me with Service Associates for this issue and later helped finalize the art for the piece about her alma mater, Lanphier High School in Springfield SD 186. Thanks, Bridget!
School districts looking for ideas for their next major project can find a wealth of information from IASB. The Association conducts the annual Exhibition of Educational Environments, which recognizes outstanding examples of school design and planning. Criteria considered for each project include challenges met, design, energy use reduction, safety, and how well each facility meets students’ educational needs. Awards are bestowed at the Joint Annual Conference, where each project is displayed.
After the Exhibition, the projects are added to IASB’s School Design Database, a searchable collection of data, illustrations, and descriptions for over 700 entries over the last 30 years. The database serves as a reference for IASB member districts and their architectural firms to help match ideas with needs. Information can be provided on various variables, including location, type and purpose of building, design features, cost, and grade levels served. Districts can reach out to another of my Communications colleagues, Jennifer Nelson, with search parameters to receive a complete report on projects that fit the criteria. Thanks, Jen!
Some of you will find nostalgia in these pages, and I hope you’ll also find ideas and inspiration for future learning environment projects for the students of your district.