Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Planning - The Educational Program
Continuing in our discussion on effective planning, it is essential to have a written Educational Program that describes your needs as the owner to the design professionals. In some States, Texas for example, it is a requirement by the Texas Education Agency to have an Educational Program for each new facility and any major space renovations.
The Educational Program (E.P.) is more than just listing the type and sizes of instructional spaces for the proposed facility. Although this list is needed, much more information should be shared with your architect. The E.P. should describe the philosophy of teaching for the district, outlining the specific learning style that is to be accommodated. The document should also outline the spatial relationships of the instructional rooms; which learning environments should be adjacent to each other or located some distance apart for noise or distraction avoidance.
Other items include the number of students to be served in each room, spaces for special needs students, vocational spaces, non-instructional support areas, outdoor learning areas, the estimated budget, administrative spaces, hours of operation, any public access or usage, and the safety of students and staff in the instructional areas as well as the overall safety plan for the campus.
Site issues should be addressed in the document, listing such needs as student pick-up and drop off zones. The bus drop off zone should be separated from the parent pick up areas. Playgrounds should be discussed and planned in detail to accommodate the safe movement of students from the facility to the play areas. (all playgrounds must be handicap accessible according the new Federal ADA guide lines, this takes effect March of 2012). Parking areas for students and staff should be located and areas for students to congregate before and after school should be noted.
The E.P. is a comprehensive document that should have input from all levels of staff, from the campus level to the district level including teachers, administrators, and maintenance and facility personnel.
The better your Educational Program, the better the completed facility will be. Time spent up front on this document will assure you have a school that will function now and well into the future.
Michael D. King AIA
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I agree, comprehensive input is essential prior to meeting with the architects. Educational leaders must examine both form and function in this process. The function piece is just as valuable as the form piece to ensure we meet instructional needs and the developmental needs of all learners.
ReplyDeleteIn order to meet the changing needs of form and function, Nancy Meyers, President of the Myers Group and Sue Robertson, President of Alliance Group in a column published in School Planning and Management (January, 2008) advocated when planning an educational facility flexibility is paramount. Flexibility should be included and considered in the planning stages of any educational facility. Meyers and Robertson wrote, “Flexibility should be planned at different levels; within the classroom, within the building, and among the school campuses in a community” (p.12). They argued that too many built-in casework and fixtures limits the opportunity to reconfigure spaces in the future and therefore limits flexibility of the structure. Looking for product fixture and furnishings that are adjustable allows for more flexibility as the need arises.
ReplyDeleteMeyers and Robertson recommended that communities not build facilities that are designated strictly elementary or junior high in function. School buildings, through flexibility of construction, should be capable of serving multiple age groups as demographics in the neighborhood change.
With so many communities strapped for funds I think Meyers and Robertson’s flexibility recommendations are very thought provoking. With flexibility built into the building design hopefully a school building would be functional for any age group and for many years to come allowing communities to “get the most bang for their buck.”
Meyers, N. & Robertson, S., (2008). Building in Flexibility. School Planning and Management,
47, 12. www.webSPM.com
pharper TSU
When designing a high school, would it be wise to look at special needs found in feeder schools to already have in place necessary facilities? In a rural community where there might be limited mobility, you could plan ahead. Or would it be better to wait until the special needs student gets to the high school? A school district had a student requiring a large swing in a private space be provided that could have been planned for in rennovations while the student was in the 6th grade but no one thought about it. As a result it became a scramble to locate and create the space at the last moment in a location that did not provide easy access. Is it to great of a financial risk to plan too far ahead for something that could happen?
ReplyDeleteI am curious as to whether the initial education plan should take into account the longevity of the facility as well. In the district that I serve the High School Campus was initially opened during the sixties and has only been added on to since then. Several rooms over the past several years rooms have had to be modified from their original purposes into science labs, or computer labs, etc. Especially due to the modifications to cooling and ventilation systems required for these kinds of classroom would it be wise to plan for those modifications in the future as part of the facility plan or would it be more financially sound to have those extra labs available but not in use when planning a new facility?
ReplyDeleteR Phillips TSU
regarding Richards comment; I believe the key is to try and build as flexible space as possible. It is very difficult to plan 20 years to the future knowing what the curriculum will be. Example, the recent 4x4 requirement by the Texas Legislature to require more science and math classes. This has had many school districts scrambling to provide the number of science lab spaces needed. The problem being, most of the available space (if you even had any) does not have the plumbing systems in place to install a functioning lab. You could rough in the plumbing ahead of time, anticipating that eventually this space would become a science lab, it all depends on your available budget. As long as walls can be easily moved, relocated, and are not structural in nature, this can give you the flexibility to convert rooms as need for future programs. It would be great to be able to build extra labs, most districts can't afford that luxury. Regarding cooling systems, there are many variables in the type of systems available. Some are more easily adaptable to expansion than others. Usually it is cheaper to just replace the unit as needed.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that there is a requirement of the TEA that all new or renovated proposals have an Education Program. Not because I feel that there is no need, but if schools are to be thinking about the issues Mike listed then I cannot help but wonder why there are so many problems is different schools (i.e. traffic flow, pick up and drop off, proximity of loud/ quiet spaces, etc.). I guess it must be that there is no process so the outcome is just as good as the people who are developing the facility and the educational program. I was wondering whether there are services out there that consults on these matters or is that usually rolled in with the architect's services?
ReplyDeletej. purser-TSU
regarding J. Purser's comment -
ReplyDeleteTEA simply states that you shall have a Ed Spec if you are building new or doing a major renovation, they don't give you a process to achieve that document however. I would say the problem has not been in the people who are developing the program, it has been the lack of the right people helping to write the program and in a lot of cases, no written program at all (i.e. the problems you listed). I have always been an advocate of involving the teachers in writing the program. Too often administrators are hesitant to allow this, thinking that the teacher will ask for too much and the budget won't be able to do what they are asking. This does happen at times, but a wise administrator can set the stage at the beginning of the process to let every one know what the constraints are and that they must be in budget at the end of the day. The teacher can provide invaluable information on the needs of their space.
There are companies that specialize in writing educational bldg programs, in fact, we have used them on special occasions when we have a particularly difficult design or a client that has specialized needs. The majority of the time, the architect can assist with the program. They should not however write the document, this should be the task of the educator.
A good source to find an educational planner is the Council of Educational Facilities Planners Inc, CEFPI. their web site is www.cefpi.org
I agree The Educational Program must not only inform the architects, engineers and all involved in the designing process regarding the school facilities by listing the type and sizes of instructional spaces for the proposed facility but also include a proximity layout for the designers as well. Over the years I have noticed that the newer facilities do include special needs rooms for students. However the location of the support rooms are so far removed from the instructional classroom that there is more time is spent on student travel than on support time. I do think educators who are still in contact with students would be the most beneficial in the planning stage.
ReplyDeleteTo further value the inclusion of the school educator in the planning stage. When you are the person who is on after school duty everyday and have the responsibility to make sure each student safely leaves the school and is in the hands of whom he/she belongs. You definitely are someone who should be included in the planning phase.
No one plans to fail, but schools often fail to plan adequately. I have noticed many times that campuses built in the 1960's often offer better traffic patterns than do newer campuses. Whereas and Educational Program is essential, should we as educators not also seek the advice of experts who have done this in the past? Sometimes gems of wisdom can be found in a more mature package.
ReplyDeleteI have decided that I have an interest in parental choice and the increase of charter schools. Twice this week, I have spoken with friends who are putting their children in charter schools opposed to Public Schools. You stated that, "It is a requirement by the Texas Education Agency to have an Educational Program for each new facility and any major space renovations." I see charter schools popping up all over the city in what were previously commercial type businesses. Are Charter Schools governed by this same requirement?
ReplyDelete