Well-designed educational spaces significantly enhance learning. However, the reality in many of today’s K–12 schools is that learning often occurs in spaces that don’t align with the needs of students and teachers. Designing today’s educational spaces is a high-visibility, high-stakes endeavor. Get it right and you’ll see students, faculty, and staff thrive. Miss the mark, and they struggle with facilities that don’t fit their needs—perhaps for decades.
To discover what works in designing K–12 schools we invited 4 district superintendents to Haworth for a panel discussion focusing on creating great places for learning. Collectively, our panel has nearly a century of education experience, and they represent both urban and rural communities, as well as diverse student populations.
The panel included:
Roger Bearup, Grandville Public Schools
Dr. Christina Heinz, Northview Public Schools
Dr. Heidi S. Kattula, East Grand Rapids Public Schools
Dr. Bradford Lusk, Hamilton Community Schools
Here are 6 key insights on designing K–12 spaces shared by the superintendents.
1. Engage All Stakeholders
Each district represented on the panel is actively working to enhance their school facilities to better support their students and staff. The panel emphasized the need to listen and capture input from all potential stakeholders for any project.
When building new facilities—or repurposing existing ones—schools need buy-in from multiple constituents. Key among these are:
Parents concerned with the quality of spaces where their kids learn
Teachers who seek spaces that support learning
Students who are the actual “customers” for learning spaces
Voters who are invested (and investing) in their local schools
Plus, other stakeholder groups within the district, like extra-curricular groups (such as athletic teams and fine arts programs), local businesses, and the community at large, have a vested interest in school spaces.
As an integral part of the community, schools serve diverse populations. Conversations and focus groups with members of the community often lead to discoveries of needs that would otherwise remain unknown to educators. For example, by talking with community members, one school leader realized the need for more thoughtful placement of accessible stadium seating and push buttons at doors to accommodate seniors and people with physical limitations.
Our panelists stressed the importance of getting abundant input from stakeholders early in planning. Also, they say it’s important to come back to these groups as plans evolve to provide updates and ask for additional input.
“If you can help people understand what you’re trying to accomplish for kids, they’re so supportive,” said Bearup. “And the same with businesses. A lot of times they want to help. They just don’t know how to help. But if you can bridge that gap, build those connections and relationships, and help them see what it is you’re trying to do, they’re so willing to help.”
2. Ask the Kids
Students are key stakeholders, and several of our panelists put special emphasis on the importance of involving them in the planning process.
"I [look to] kids as number 1. I think they have a better vision for what it could be because they're living it. They know what works, what doesn't work,” Bearup said. “If we want inviting, engaging environments we need to make sure we listen to what they tell us. They'll tell you if you ask them. It's interesting,” he noted.
The ideal practice is to both listen to kids and seek understanding of the whys behind their ideas.
3. Meet the Needs of Today’s Students
While the 4 districts served by our panelists approach learning spaces in different ways, one common observation was that a static classroom setup with rows of desks is no longer the norm (even though this setup still exists).
The move away from rows of student seating is driven by the need of K–12 learners to cultivate soft skills in addition to rote learning. A focus on teamwork and communication starts in elementary school. Adaptable spaces and furnishings better facilitate activities that develop soft skills. For example, when students can move their desks together to work in small groups or pairs, the setup is more conducive to collaboration.
Equipping kids with soft skills is just one part of preparing kids for life.
“Our kids are really looking at careers, and a lot of students don't want to give up a half a day to go to an ISD career tech center. So how are we bringing some of those opportunities into the school?” Kattula said.
The cultural pendulum has swung away from the thought that everyone has to go to college, and there’s now more focus on vocational training. Schools are adding on-site programs for robotics, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, CDL, and automotive technology.
Most of the panel’s districts are incorporating specialized learning spaces that support these new learning opportunities. Grandville Middle School, for example, incorporates robotics spaces into the facility—not only to support their robotics programs and competitions, but also to foster related learning activities that enrich student skill development.
Another thing superintendents consider when planning educational spaces is how to support virtual learners. Socialization, soft skills, and relationships are just as important to these kids as they are to those learning in classrooms. Hamilton Community Schools repurposed an under-utilized space to create a drop-in center for K–12 virtual students. “You can’t replace that connected feeling you get from people in person and a lot of the social stuff that happens in person.” Lusk said.
In addition to providing a space where virtual students can connect and learn in person, the drop-in center at Hamilton Community Schools demonstrates how a space that was no longer being utilized was reimagined to support a broader group of students and members of the community.
