East Palo Alto Academy - Stanford Charter Elementary School
Constraints:
- no water in portable buildings
- shared bathroom facilities with Edison school
- no space for assemblies
- littlest kids are furthest from the office
- no coverage from the rain when going to office, lunch, bathroom...
- students eat lunch outside under carports
- space for after school program is in first grade classroom
- office spaces provide no privacy for meetings or confidential conversations
- psychologist and others are without offices and work with children on picnic tables outside
- no secluded spaces to take children to calm down or work through a problem
- no gym or recess alternatives when it is raining
- teacher resource room is a shared space: work room, library, student computers, computer technician office and storage, art room, community organization meeting room
Immediate Needs:
- Four more classrooms for grades being added next year
- Conference room
- Room for after school program
- Small, private offices for psychologist, reading specialist, etc...
- Community space for teacher collaboration and meetings
- Storage
- Water in classrooms
- Separate bathrooms - and one for adult use
Brainstorming...
- convert the IT room to one that can serve students as well as teachers (for teacher collaboration and meetings)
- arrange portables such that a central area is created for picnic tables. This would allow students to interact with one another across grades within the school - important for building community which is essential for a new school
- For posting student work: retractable lines with multiple connection points around the room
- Smartboards, Websters
- Bar height/standing tables
- What do you do about “Teacher Space” – the need for places to put their stuff? – files, supplies, professional books and binders, class materials…
- What about creating popular spaces for teacher gatherings (informal)
- Think about lighting, lamps, plants, rugs, art,
- Lots of windows with good window coverings (those internal blinds..)
- Sliding/rolling doors (garage-door style) – leading the sort-of divided outdoor spaces
- Closet/storage space – cabinets, counter tops / storage closets outside of classrooms: book room (ordered class sets) – grade-level/ subject area closets… - technology storage areas (ink, extra monitors, paper, etc…)
- “Kitchen” space – definitely need a sink at minimum
- In public spaces, have clean-up areas – supplies for cleaning up messes, plus hand-wipes or hand washing areas
- Technology: white boards, projectors – ceiling mounted, laptop carts, wireless, printing stations, dvd viewing, electrical plugs
- Think about table/chair size for convertible spaces
- Bookshelves around the perimeter of spaces – with shelves tall enough and deep enough for all books (adjustable?)
- Areas for art, technology, performance, wet /messy projects…
- Group spaces for meetings, collaboration, small group work
- Comfy chairs, couches – spaces for learning independently; lofty spaces, squishy spaces
- Rectangle study carrels – Like a big shoebox with the lid and bottom cut off, the stood on end – one table in the box – chairs on each side
- Big long bars with stools – weird shapes like curvy and jellybean shapes
- Outdoor performance/auditorium spaces (but what about tech outside?) – outdoor stage and outdoor classroom spaces
- How do constraints on teachers’ time effect the use of space (every grade and every subject has it’s own demands on time… how do you learn how to use the space?)
- Portable walls – space dividers
- Color choice for accent walls (like choice of three color schemes…)
- Rolling shelves, movable tables and chairs
- Focus on the Verbs: Collaborating, comparing, experimenting, guiding, leading, arguing, building, communicating, visualizing, seeing, brainstorming, meeting, working, creating, partnering, exhibiting…
- Outdoor patio space for each classroom, plants in between for “insulation”
- water issue: tanks above portables that collect rain water, or one centralized water "clean-up" area - multiple sinks outside with above ground plumbing
- communal space – 2 X portable size – for teachers
- 1 library – rolling shelves, collapsible tables and chairs
>>>>>>>
THE GOOD - Classroom Spaces are Designed Well
THE BAD - Common Areas are NOT Efficient or Organized
THE UGLY - Campus as a Whole is NOT Conducive for Learning
